For Those Who Care
by gabicpa
Summary: Merle Dixon is man who doesn't care about anything. He didn't care when he lost his hand. He didn't care when he had to kill people to protect himself. He didn't care about the girl that came to his life. But she did care about him. About everything that happened to him. What happens when someone who cares too much meets someone who doesn't care at all? [Merle x OC]
1. Chapter 1

**_Edited 9/6/2015: This story has a few grammar errors in the firsts chapters. As said below, english is not my first language, but it got better with the time, so you will read a very bad english in the beginning, but it gets better with the time. Thank you for reading this._**

**_A/N: _**Hi! I wanted to say some things before you start reading my story. This is a Merle OC; just because I'm still super pissed he got cut off from the show. Also, because I'm obsessed with him. Seriously, I love him so much. Anyway, I tried to keep him in character but, God, it's SO hard. So I'm slowly going to change his personality because… Well, you'll see. All I can say is that this is going to be a long story (maybe not too long, but whatever), so please have patience with me. I like reading fanfics that have longs chapters, so mine is going to be the same. Thank you so much for choosing my story (it's my first one published, omg). This chapter is slightly shorter than the others, but I hope you enjoy!

I also made some Parks and Recreation references; they're very subtle, however. Let me know if you caught them, or not! Haha

Oh, I forgot to mention… I'm Brazilian. So if you see some grammar mistake or any kind of mistake, I'm so sorry, I tried my best to write in English (also let me know in the reviews or PM me).

Have a good day!

~oOo~

"Lena, help me carrying him." Morgan said to the brunette girl who was staring at the unconscious man.

"Lena!" Morgan said, snapping his fingers in front of her.

"What?" She said, coming back to reality.

"Help me carrying him!" He repeated.

"Oh, okay." She said, grabbing the stranger's wrists. Morgan grabbed his ankles, and together, they carried the man to the house they were staying at the night. Duane followed them, the shovel still in his hand, the adrenaline still rushing in his body.

"Let's put him in one of the bedrooms." Morgan said, going upstairs and entering in one of the rooms. They laid the man in the bed and Lena couldn't help but think she knew the man from somewhere.

"You think he got bit?" Duane asked.

The girl sighed. "Only one way to find out." She sat on the chair next to the bed and started removing the bandage of his torso. Dried blood was covering the wound and an odd smell invaded the room.

"It's stinking!" Duane exclaimed.

"Oh, my God." Lena said, after smelling the wound. With her hands in her face, she approached to examine it better. "I don't think this is a bite... Duane, get me the first aid kit from downstairs."

"Wait!" Morgan ordered. "I'm not wasting anything with him."

"He's not bitten." Lena said, looking the men in the eye.

"How can you be so sure?"

"He would be dead by now. And look at this!" She pointed to the tiny points in his wounds. "That's professional. Needle and thread. Whatever made this, it wasn't a walker."

Morgan sighed, giving up. He had to admit it, the girl was smarter than him. She was observant. She knew everything. The men told his son to get the first aid kit, and then began to tie the stranger's wrist on the bed.

"Why are you doing this?!" Lena asked, incredulously.

"Just making sure." He answered. The girl rolled her eyes, as the boy entered the bedroom with the kit. Morgan was finishing tying the men, when Lena began cleaning the wound.

A few minutes later, he was brand new._ Now we just have to wait until he wakes up._ She thought, putting the needle, the thread and the alcohol on the first aid kit bag. Morgan went downstairs, to prepare some dinner for Duane. In the quiet of the room, she started to think about what just happened. They just found a new person, someone that she could swear she knew from somewhere. This could be her escape. She wanted to separate from Morgan and his son for a few weeks now. She just couldn't handle the cowardice of both of them. The men couldn't even shot his own dead wife. Hell, she had to shoot her dead grandmother. And not a single tear was shed. She needed a new place. She wouldn't mind being all by herself, she just needed to get away of that family. Lena sighed as she untied her shoes, kicking them off and pulling her legs close to her chest. She rested her chin on her knee, and sighed again.

A few moments of silence later, she heard the man moaning and grumbling, and she knew he was waking up. The girl got up and called Morgan from the bedroom. Quickly, she was in the men's side, looking at his face waiting for him to open his eyes. She wanted to know who he was; she wanted to end the mental torture her head was. She knew this guy from somewhere.

Morgan came running into the room, and so did Duane, with a baseball bat in his hands. The stranger suddenly opened his blues eyes and met Lena's brown ones. _Rick Grimes._ Morgan pointed the gun to him, and Lena protested,

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes." The man answered, still looking at the guest in the bed. "What was it? The wound."

Rick swallowed before answering. "Gunshot."

"Gunshot?" Morgan repeated. "What else, anything?"

"Gunshot ain't enough?"

"Look, I ask, you answer, okay?" Morgan leaned closer to him. "Did. You. Get. Bit?"

Rick looked confused to Morgan and then to Lena. He licked his lips, and then asked.

"Bit?"

"Bit." Lena said. "Chewed-"

"Maybe scratched, anything like that?" Morgan interrupted her. The men looked at both with furrowed brows, looking more confused than ever.

"No, I got shot." He answered. "Just shot, as far as I know." Morgan lowered his gun, and Lena raised his hand, making the men flinch his head.

"Hey." She said. "Just let me check." She touched his forehead, to check if he had a fever. He was pretty normal. "Told you." She said looking to Morgan. "He's not infected. Fever would've killed you by now."

"I don't think I have one." The men answered.

Morgan sighed, and then untied the men's wrists. "I'm Morgan." He said. "This is my son Duane." He pointed to the boy, who was with a least scared look on his face.

"I'm Lena." The girl said.

"Rick." He answered rubbing his wrists. "Rick Grimes."

Lena gave him a light smile, nodding. She knew it. She knew him. Morgan began to walk away, getting out of the room. "Come out when you're ready." He said, pulling Duane with him. "C'mon, Lena give the men some time."

Lena got up and picked up her shoes from under the bed. "We'll find some clothes for you in the morning." She said, with a little smile and walked through the door.

In the living room, Morgan was serving some dinner for Duane, and Lena sat in the couch, near by the window, and began to put her belongings in her backpack, like she always did every night. When Rick came downstairs, with a blanket over his shoulder, everyone stopped what they were doing and observed the guy walk around, like he was lost. He looked at Morgan, Duane, and then to Lena. He looked at the mattresses on the floor, and said,

"This place... Fred and Cindy Drake's?"

"It was empty when got here." Morgan answered.

"They went to Atlanta." Lena explained. "For the refugee center, I suppose... I saw them." She looked away, and took a deep breath, thinking about her old neighbors. "Fred was already bitten." Rick looked confused to her; he didn't know what the hell she was talking about. He also had that strange feeling, he also could swear he know her from somewhere. He walked towards the windows, with the intention of removing the covers, but Morgan stopped him.

"Don't do this." He said. "They'll see the light. There's more them out there than usual. I never should have fired that gun today." He sighed and got back to his sit on the table.

"Told you to wear the baseball bat, but you didn't listen, did you." Lena said, now lacing her shoes. "Sounds draw them, and now they're all over the street."

"Stupid." Morgan said. Rick approached him.

"You shot that man today."

"Man?"

"It wasn't a man." Duane said.

"You shot him." The other man insisted. "Out there, in the street, a man."

"Friend." Morgan said. "You need glasses, that was a walker."

He looked confused, like had heard that word for the first time.

"Mister, do you even know what's going on?" Lena asked, looking at him.

"I woke up today." He answered. "In a hospital. Came home, that's all I know."

~oOo~

Lena ate her can of corns in silence, while she listened Morgan telling Rick, how was the outbreak, and the end of the world. After dinner, Morgan and Duane lay on the mattress, Rick sat in the armchair, and Lena was lying on the couch reading an old book. Rick looked at her, and felt that feeling again. He knew this girl, he just couldn't remember how. He looked at her brown hair, her pale skin, her short legs, her brown eyes, but he couldn't remember.

"I can't help but think I know you from somewhere." He confessed. She looked at him, and have him a fragile smile.

"You already arrested me." She answered. "You and that friend of yours... What was his name?"

"Shane Walsh?"

"Yes. Officer Walsh." She laughed under her breath.

"You were in the program, right?"

Lena looked away from him and answered quietly. "Yeah."

"Program?" Morgan asked, listening to the talking.

"I was in the Witness Protection Program." Lena said, without looking at him. God, why he'd want to know everything about her? It's not like he was her friend, they're only partners in this end of the world. Since four weeks ago, when they first met, he was trying to get close to her. But she was selfish; she didn't want to get close to Morgan. She wanted to survive. She wanted to not be hurt when someone dies. She concluded that the best way of doing that, is getting away from people.

"What's that?" Duane said, making Lena get back to reality. She looked at him.

"It's a program to protect someone who witnessed a murder, or anything like that." She answered.

"Have you?" The boy asked.

Lena got back to her book, before answering in a low sad voice.

"My parents."

The room fell in silence. Morgan was surprised; the only thing he knew from the girl was she was twenty years old, and was a little bit selfish. A few minutes after that, Rick spoke again.

"Do you know what happened to my wife and son?"

Lena looked at him again, furrowing brows. "Lori and Carl?" Rick tried again.

She shook her head. "I don't. I was in Atlanta when the outbreak happened."

Rick nodded before talking. "We'll need more guns if we wanna survive. I know a place."

"Where?" Morgan asked.

"The police station." Rick answered. Lena chuckled.

"I thought I'd never put a feet in that place again." She said and Rick laughed.

"At least is for getting guns, right?" Morgan said, with a smile on his face. The room was silent again. Rick sighed.

"I gotta find my wife and son." He said, more to himself than to the others. "I just have to."

"They could be in Atlanta." Morgan said. _Or dead._ Lena thought. "Like Lena said, there was a refugee center up there."

Rick looked at her, and she shrugged. She never had the chance to meet Lori, only saw her from distance. She did understand that Rick wanted to find his family, but she knew that they could not be alive. Rick knew that too he just... Didn't want to believe it. But if Lena was right, if Lori and Carl were dead, she knew that Rick wasn't going to make it. His family meant everything in world for him. Wasn't this supposed to be with everyone? Family comes first in everything? _But she didn't have family. _Her family was taken away from her a long time ago. She suddenly realized that she didn't want Rick to suffer the same. She didn't want him to be alone in this world. It wasn't because Rick could be an escape for her, but because she really did care about him.

"I'll go with you." Lena heard the sound of her own voice.

"What?" Rick said.

"I'll go with you... To find your family."

~oOo~

"They're alive." Rick said, as he entered in his old house. Lena, Morgan and Duane were right after them. "My wife and son. At least they were when they left."

"How can you know?" Lena asked.

"I found empty drawers in the bedrooms. They packed some clothes. Not a lot. But enough to travel."

"You know anyone could've broken in here and stolen clothes, right?" Morgan said, looking around.

"You see the framed photos on the walls?" Rick pointed to the clean white walls. "Neither do I. Some random thief took those too, you think? My photo albums, family pictures, all gone."

Morgan started to sob, and Lena took a second to realize he was actually laughing and not crying.

"Photo albums..." He said, with a smile on his face. "My wife... Same thing... Here I am, packing survival gear and she's grabbing photo albums."

Lena looked at Morgan with an annoyed expression on her face. She was starting to get sick of his wife memories. Every night he would tell a story about her, everyday he would mention her name, and Lena was starting to lose her patience. She didn't care. She just wanted to survive. The brunette sighed out loud and said,

"Anyway, if they left, he could be in Atlanta. Maybe that refugee center is still there."

Rick walked towards the kitchen and grabbed a set of keys. "We're gonna need more guns, like I said yesterday. The police station is not far from here. There are some supplies, showers..."

"Gas and light have been down for maybe a month." Morgan pointed.

"Station got its own propane system." He answered. "Bet the pilot is still on."

"Okay, so enough talking and let's go." Lena interrupted their conversation, going to the front door and grabbing the baseball bat from the floor, where Rick had left it.

"I just..." Rick said. "Need a moment." Lena looked at him over the shoulder and saw him looking at the house. It was hard letting go of his home, the place where Carl was born, where he and Lori started their lives with a high expectation. "One second." He said, going upstairs. Lena rolled his eyes and sat on the porch's step. Upstairs Rick was on his son's bedroom, touching the blue walls, remembering all the moments he had in that place. He walked towards Carl's wardrobe and picked up some clothes from there. It wasn't much, but he thought it would fit Duane. After that, he went to his own bedroom. He found the king sized bed all messed up, with the white sheets on the floor and covers by the side of the bed. All the wardrobes doors were open, with a few clothes on the ground. He knelt to ground and closed his eyes. All he wanted was to be with his wife. His eyes started tearing up when he remembered the last time he had seen her. They had fought about something stupid, he even didn't remember anymore.

Rick heard steps and quickly wiped the tears on his face, standing up.

"Rick, we can't wait anymore." He said, stepping into the room. When he saw Rick's red eyes, he realized he had interrupted one private moment and stood silent. Rick was looking to the ground, and the awkward silence was on the air. "You should take some of your wife's shirts." Morgan said looking at the clothes on the floor. "And give it to Lena." Rick looked at Morgan, confused. "She doesn't have too many of them. In an entire month, we only saw her with two plaid shirts, and one top tank. Said she doesn't travel with much luggage to make the backpack lighter. She's determined to survive, not matter what, but... She needs some clothes."

Rick looked at the shirts all over the floor and picked up one. Lori's favorite. Rick sighed and said,

"I took some for your boy. Don't know if it will fit but-"

"Thank you." Morgan interrupted him and took the clothes from Rick's hands. "Now, let's get going, she's getting impatient."

~oOo~

Lena felt the hot water touching her skin and smiled. She hadn't felt this good since the outbreak. She ran her hands through her brown, long hair, slowly enjoying the moment. She knew she would not have the privilege of having a hot shower in a long time again, so she made it last like forever. When she turned off the shower, she heard nothing but silence. There was no one with her on the women's dressing room, and she appreciated that. Muttering a song that got stuck on her head, she stepped out of the shower and sat, completely wet, in one of the benches, beside the lockers and began to rub the white towel Rick gave her on her head, on an attempt of getting her hair dry. She looked over the other bench on her right and saw the shirt he had gave her a few minutes ago, just before she get in the shower. "It was my wife's favorite." He had said, handing the blue plaid shirt, with a half smile on his face. "Guess she was too busy getting the framed photos off the wall, and forgot picking it up."

Lena sighed. It wasn't right wearing his wife's favorite shirt when he was trying to find her. On the other side, she had only two more shirts, and both of them were stinky as hell. After several minutes, she got up, and got dressed; wearing Lori's shirt with no tank top underneath it. After buttoning it, she rolled the sleeves up, due to the hot weather outside. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the place once more. She could live there, with light and gas for a few days. But, then again, she thought of Rick. Lena didn't want to admit it, but she cared about him. They knew each other briefly in the past, and that was enough for her to want someone she knew with her. She just couldn't let him on his own, being so inexperience in this new world.

Brushing away those thoughts, Lena started to open the lockers in the room, searching for supplies. She didn't find much; a few tank tops, a toothbrush and some tampons. On the last locker she found a screwdriver and a pair of scissors. She ran the finger tips trough the blades of the scissors. She had thought about it a few times, she couldn't deny. She had seen the way walkers attacked people, it almost happened to her once. A walker had grabbed a hand fist full of her hair and brought her close. If it wasn't for Morgan, she would be dead by now.

"Lena?" Rick's voice coming from outside snapped her out of her thoughts. "You okay there?"

Lena opened the door and Rick stared at her. His gaze fell down to her chest, staring at the blue plaid shirt which once was from Lori.

"Yeah." She answered, smiling lightly. "But I need your help with something."

~oOo~

"You sure you wanna do this?" Rick asked, holding the scissors Lena had found. She sighed.

"Yes." The girl replied. "Just make sure you cut right after the shortest hair layer, which is just little bit after my shoulders." Rick ran his hand through Lena's hair and began searching for the hair layer. Her hands interrupted him. "Here, let me help you." She made a low ponytail with her hands and showed him where to cut it.

After Rick closed the scissors on her hair, she said goodbye to her long hair. Now she was just short hair Lena. She looked at Rick, running her hands through the new haircut.

"How do I look?" She asked.

Rick didn't know what to say. He wasn't actually intimate with the girl, so he just nodded and replied,

"Good."

Lena stood up and started to get her things together.

"You know how to shoot." Rick said suddenly. It was more of an affirmation than a question. She nodded and picked up her shoes. She sat on the bench again, put them and started to lace them. "Morgan told me. He said you have a good aim."

"My father taught me." She replied. "Before... Y'know."

An awkward silence fell down the room. Rick nodded and looked at the ground. Lena only now realized he was wearing his old police uniform. It was weird, knowing that his days he didn't need to wear this anymore. But it was a way to remind him who he was, and she would not interfere in this.

~oOo~

"So, I guess this is where we separate, right?" Lena said, looking at Morgan and Duane, outside the police station, right next to the police cars. The boy came running towards her and hugged her. She was a little uncomfortable and Rick noticed that. The girl smile briefly for him. "Take care of your daddy. He needs your protection, okay?"

Duane nodded and replied,

"And you take care of Rick." Lena laughed under her breath.

"Don't worry." She said. "I'll make sure he gets to his family safe and sound."

She looked over Morgan and nodded to him. He smiled lightly and looked to something over her shoulder. Rick and Lena followed his gaze and saw one walker trying to reach them over the fence.

"Leon Bassett?" Rick said, approaching the creature. "Didn't think too much of him. Careless, dumb... I can't leave him like this." He raised his gun to the walker.

"You know they'll hear the shot." Morgan said.

"Let's not be here when they show up." Rick replied. Lena got into the car and heard the loud shot gun. Rick got into the car as well and waved a goodbye to Morgan. Lena sighed.

_Here goes to nothing. _


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ I know the first chapter was a little boring and short, but this one gets better, I promise. Thank you ** .3** and **GirlIncognito99** for adding my story to your favorites. Seriously, it made my day, ily 3

ANYWAY, enjoy it :)

~oOo~

The road was empty. No people, no walkers. Rick and Lena were quiet. Both of them hadn't said a word since their little trip started. Lena was a little bit nervous. She never got out of King's County since everything started. She was looking at the trees, which ran fast due the velocity of the car, with her baseball bat in the middle of her legs. Rick looked at her, once in a while. He suddenly realized that he knew nothing about her. Of course he knew she was at the Program, and was being watched by the FBI, but he didn't even know her last name.

"Morgan said you were... Reserved." He said, breaking the silence. Lena looked at him, frowning. "He said you don't talk too much. Why were you with them, at first place?"

"What kind of question is that?" She replied, with a half smile on her face.

"Just figured." He shrugged. "If you didn't care about them… Why didn't you just... Leave?"

She frowned. "Who said that?"

"Duane."

Lena sighed. "I select the ones who I care about." She said. "It's true I didn't care about them." She looked at the trees again. "But, no one can make it alone. Not in this world." She sighed again. "Not anymore."

Rick looked at her again. She noticed his haze on her and smiled. "But if you ask me again." She continued. "I saved Duane's life and the boy stuck on me like glue."

He laughed under his breath and Lena smiled again. Then the awkward silence was back at the car.

"You said your father taught you how to shoot." He said breaking the silence once again. "May I ask you how he learned?"

Lena hesitated before answering. It wouldn't make a difference if he knew about her father; those times were times where you had to get along with people to survive. So if by talking about her father, she would have Rick's trust, she would do it.

"He was in the FBI."

Rick looked at her surprised. Lena kept looking at the trees and continued.

"In Washington... We used live there; we were a happy family." She stopped talking and Rick thought she done, but then she started again. "I always used to think that he if he was going to die, he would die in combat, just... Doing 'some agent Mackling thing.' I would be sad, of course; after all he was my father... But at least I would know that he'd die with honor." Lena sighed. "But he didn't." She paused for a second. "He just killed them."

She closed her eyes. She could still see it. The red blood coming out of her father's chest and mouth. She could still hear it. Her mother screaming, begging for mercy right before her murderer wrap his hands around her neck. She could still feel it. His hands all over her; those cold, rough hands of him. She dreamed about that moment for five years. Those nightmares haunted her, since the incident. Sometimes she would wake up at the dawn and wouldn't sleep again, because they seemed so real.

"I'm sorry." Rick snapped her out of her memories. Lena shook her head.

"It was five years ago." She said. "I'm over it."

_Liar_, she thought to herself. Rick was quiet again. There was only one more question in the back of his head. But he wouldn't dare to ask it. He knew she wouldn't answer it. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the little trip. Lena leaned her forehead on the window glass, and closed her eyes again, trying not to think about anything at all. Tired, she fell asleep; Rick noticed a few minutes later, when he heard her heavy breathing. He sighed and kept his eyes on the road.

~oOo~

"Shit!" Rick exclaimed. "Son of a bitch!"

"What's going on?" Lena said, waking up from her nap.

"We're out of gas." He replied. "There is a gas station not far from here; but I don't think that'll be enough gas to drive there."

"Only one way to find out." She said.

It didn't take too much time to get to the gas station. Rick stopped the car to see a car crash in front of them.

"Okay." He said, reaching the gun bag in the back seat. He took a 9mm and handed to Lena. "I suppose your father taught you about the safety."

Hesitant, Lena took the weapon and swallowed hard. "Yeah." She answered.

"And how to reload?"

She nodded.

"I'll be right back, if something happen, yell. I'll come running." He said, opening the car door. He stepped outside and Lena called him.

"You too." She said, and the man nodded. He walked to gas station, hoping to find some gas.

Meanwhile, Lena was staring at the gun Rick gave her. She never had shot one of those things before. Or anyone. Her father taught her how to shot targets- not moving targets. He had died before he starts with the moving targets lessons. Besides, her aim wasn't really that good like Morgan had said to Rick and she would be dead if she depended on a gun to survive.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. With her heart racing she waited for another one, or a scream; but there was only silence. She opened the door and ran to the direction Rick had gone. Lena passed all the trash and cars until she found Rick with his gun in hands.

"Rick!" She exclaimed. He turned around to see her with the gun in her hands, breathless from the run.

"It was just a walker." He said harshly. "There is no fuel." He looked to the ground and started walking back towards the car. Lena looked at the dead walker and saw it was just a little girl.

"Have you looked on the cars?" She said, following him. He stopped walking, but didn't turn around to look at her. She swallowed hard. "Y'know what, just... Go back to the car, I'll search for the gas." She approached him and took the small fuel tank he was holding. Rick didn't say anything; he just got back to his car.

He sighed as he sat down. He opened the glove box and picked up his family photo. He had killed a little girl today. A blonde, who once was pretty, little girl. Someone's daughter. Perhaps, someone's little sister. That reminded him of Carl. His little boy. He just could hope that no one had shot his son, like he just did to that girl.

Lena knocked on the glass window, snapping Rick from his thoughts.

"I found some." She said, smiling. "A whole small tank." She lifted the orange little tank. Rick put his family photo on the rear view and got out of the car to see Lena with more stuff in her hands.

"I also found some food, a first aid kit and some clothes. I picked a few for you." She said. He just nodded and picked up the tank from her hands. She opened the back seat door and put the things over there, next to the gun bag. While she walked to the front door, Rick was putting gas on the car. She could see that he was different. She supposed that the little girl shook him somehow.

After he put the gas on the car, he got into the car, and started driving in silence. Now it was Lena who was uncomfortable with the lack of words of the police officer. They spent a few minutes like, until she said the first thing that popped out of her mind.

"Do you like smoothies?" She said. He just looked at her with furrowed brows. She shrugged. "Before my parents get murdered, every single Saturday morning my father used to do a banana smoothie for me. Always banana smoothies. Well, at least he would try to... It always had like, those banana pieces at the bottom of the cup, because he wouldn't blend long enough in the liquefier."

"You didn't tell him that?" He asked, the eyes on the road.

"Oh, no." She answered. "I didn't dare. He would be so proud of his smoothie that I didn't even want to ruin his happiness. Used to say his secret ingredient was love." She laughed under her breath. "I knew it was just a spoon of honey."

Rick laughed under his breath too. Both of them spent the rest of the trip telling stories of the past; about their family, friends and little adventures they used to live in the past world.

~oOo~

It didn't last much until they ran out of gas again. The car just stopped running in the middle of the road and they had to walk to find some fuel. Both gathered their things and started the walk.

"A crow." She answered Rick's question.

"Really?" He said. "Why?"

Lena shrugged. "Did you know that they memorize faces?" She said. "And imitate human voices? They're awesome."

Rick laughed.

"What about you?" She asked. "What's your favorite animal?"

Rick didn't answer. His gaze was in the house he just had found. Both of them approached it and Rick shouted.

"Hello?!" He put his hand bag on the floor. Lena kept her backpack in her back and hold tight on her gun, just for precaution. "Police officer out here! Can I borrow some gas?!"

They walked into the porch and Lena looked inside the window.

"Oh my God!" She gasped. Rick came towards her to see a scene he never thought he would. There was a family, an entire family dead on the floor. Written in blood, in the white wall there was a message.

_God forgive us._

Lena's eyes started to tear up and she felt vomit coming into her mouth. She stepped back and puked on the grass, leaning on the little fence that was there.

"You okay?" Rick asked, putting a hand on her back.

"Yeah." She replied, wiping her mouth. "I'm just not a fan of bloody things."

"You wanna rest here? I'll see if there is gas somehow-"

"No, I'm fine." Lena interrupted him.

Both walked to the backyard and found a truck. Rick got in and searched for the keys, but didn't find them. "There are no keys." He said frustrated. Lena sighed.

"Guess we'll have to walk, then." She said.

Rick got out of the truck and started to follow Lena, but stopped when he saw something.

"Wait, Lena." He said, walking towards a horse that was in the stall. Lena followed him.

"Easy now, easy." The man said to the horse. "I'm not gonna hurt you. More like a proposal."

Lena wanted to ask why the hell he was talking to a horse, but remained quiet and watching him pick up a harness. He approached it and kept talking.

"Atlanta's just down the road ways. It's safe there. Food, shelter, people. Other horses too, I bet. How's that sound?"

He wrapped the harness on the horse. He leads it out of the stable and he rode it. He stood a hand to Lena. Hesitant, she accepted it and mounted the horse, awkwardly holding into Rick's torso. She let out a gasp when the horse started to walk.

"Lemme guess." He said. "Not much of a fan of horses too."

"No." Lena said, swallowing hard. "I'm just afraid of them."

Rick laughed under his breath.

"Lemme guess." Lena said, her voice sounding nervous. "Your favorite animal is a horse."

"You got it." He replied. "Easy now." He said to the horse. "I haven't done this for years. Easy boy, easy-"

The horse started to running, making Lena bump and hold tighter to Rick. They kept like that for a few minutes until they got into the road. Lena breathed heavily.

"You okay?"

"I thought I was going to die." She said and Rick laughed.

"There it is." He said, seeing the entering of the city. The side of highway where they were was empty while the other side was packed with several cars that were wrecked and abandoned. They continued to ride down until they entered the city.

There was trash everywhere. The streets were abandoned and empty. Some of the glasses from window shopping were broken and Lena noticed an empty strait street. There was a little grocery store that was closed. That meant supplies.

"Rick stop." She said, and Rick stopped the horse. "There is a store over there. There could be supplies there."

Rick hesitated. "There are supplies on the refugee center."

"Yeah, but food is never too much, right?"

He stared at her for a moment, and then sighed, giving up. "Be quick. When you're done, go around and meet me in the other street." He ordered. "Only use your gun if it's totally necessary." Lena dismounted the horse and went towards the street.

When she reached the store, she thought she'd have to break the glass but the door was open. Once she was in, she saw a glimpse of a shadow on the corner of the store. She raised her baseball bat and approached the creature. When she was ready to attack, the creature turned around and spoke.

"No!" It said. _Wait, walkers don't speak._ "I'm not dead! I'm not dead!"

It was a boy's voice. Not too young, but not too old. Lena stepped back, and then she could see. It was a boy. More like a guy in his early twenties. He was wearing a baseball cap and was Asian. He put his hand on his chest and breathed heavily.

"You almost killed me!" He exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." Lena answered. "I thought you were one of them."

When the guy calmed down, he looked around. Lena started to search for food.

"You're alone?" He asked.

"No." She replied. "I mean, I am now, but I'm supposed to meet someone on the next corner."

She found a can of corn and put on her backpack.

"The next street?" He asked.

"Yeah." She answered, not looking at him. She found a bag of chips and some candy bars.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that, but he's gonna die."

Lena dropped the bag of cookies she had found on the floor.

"What?!" She asked him.

"That street is full of bitters."

Lena turned around and started running towards the door. The Asian boy followed her.

"Wait!" He grabbed her arm. "You can't go!"

"I gotta tell him!" Lena protested, trying to get rid of the boy.

"You're gonna die!"

"I can't let him die!"

"I'm sorry!"

Lena stopped protesting. She had to save Rick somehow, and she didn't know how. The boy let go of her arm, and without thinking much, she ran towards the street. Over the fence there was a herd of those things. Some of them noticed her and began slowly walk in her direction. The boy grabbed her again, and both ran in the opposite direction. He pulled an emergency stair from a building, and started climbing it. Lena followed him. When they reached one of the floors of the building and stopped to catch a breath, Lena slapped him right on the face. He held his cheek in surprise and widened the eyes to her.

"Why would you do this?!" He exclaimed.

"He's gonna die now, and it's your fault!" Lena screamed. "He has no one, and he's gonna die alone!"

"Calm down, okay-" he tried to calm her down.

"No, I'm not calming down!" She shouted.

"Stop screaming!"

"Then save him." She said, not screaming anymore. "Please." She never had begged before in her life. Not even for her own life when she thought she was going to die. Suddenly, something popped on her mind. "Do you have a brother?" She asked; her eyes started to tear up.

"I have two sisters-"

"Then you know it." She interrupted him. "He's my brother!" She lied. "Please, I'm begging you, save his life!"

The boy hesitated for a few seconds, then, he gave up.

"Fine." He said. "But first I need to tell my group, really quick."

He started to climb the stairs again and Lena followed him, once more.

"You have a group?" She asked.

"Yeah, and an entire camp, just outside the city."

"What about the refugee center?"

He stopped climbing and looked down. "There is not refugee center?" He said, and began climbing again.

Lena stopped in shock. "What?" She began climbing again.

When they reached the top of the building, the Asian boy walked on some kind of plank to go to the other one. "They got over run, in the firsts days." He explained. "I'm sorry."

Lena didn't answer. If there was no refugee center, then Rick's wife and son could be dead. She already knew that there was a big chance of Rick doesn't find them, but she didn't want to accept it.

"I'm Glenn, by the way." The boy said.

"Lena."

~oOo~

There was a group. A Mexican guy, a black guy, a black woman, a blonde woman and a man seemed pretty tough. Perhaps he was their leader.

"What?!" The blonde one exclaimed. "We came here to find supplies, not help little girls!"

Lena frowned. "Uh, I'm twenty." She said, and everyone looked at her. "Seriously, don't be fooled by my height. I'm twenty years old."

Glenn shook his head. "Look, Andrea, I was going to get some clothes anyway, so if you guys want to go with me, then come. I just need one of you here."

Lena was a little surprised when she saw Glenn giving orders and the others agreeing. He didn't seem much of a leader, it didn't suit him.

"I'll stay." The tough guy said, holding an AK-47 in his hands.

"Okay." Glenn nodded. "Lena, you should stay here, just for precaution."

Lena nodded, and watched the rest of the group leave. She looked at the guy who was leaning into the balcony of the roof, looking down. She didn't dare say a word. She wasn't scared of him, she just... Knew what kind of guy he was. He was trouble. She knew that, because she used to be like that. The girl put her backpack on the floor and leaned her back on the balcony.

"Twenty, huh?" The guy said without looking at her. She didn't answer. "I'd call you a liar."

"Some people seem younger than they are, it's pretty common." She replied. He laughed under his breath.

"Your name?" He said, now, looking at her. She thought about lying, but if she was going to stay with them after Rick got saved, she better say the truth.

"Lena Mackling."

"Merle Dixon." He stood his hand and Lena took it. "Nice handshake."

Lena just nodded. Merle picked up a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. A few seconds passed in the famous awkward silence, until he broke it.

"You from here?"

She shook her head. "Washington... But moved to King County five years ago."

He nodded, and blew a smoke. She waited for him to say something but he didn't. "...You?" She asked, hesitant.

"North Georgia."

And the awkward silence came back. Lena started to bite her thumbnail.

"Bet that guy ain't even your brother." Merle said. Lena looked at him and sighed.

"Look." She said. "He was going to die, and he has no one, if I hadn't-"

"Don't care." Merle interrupted her. The brunette felt her blood boil. Lena hated when someone interrupted her, she just hated. She narrowed her eyes like she always used to do when she was angry.

"Then why the fuck did you say that?!" She exclaimed. He looked inside her brown eyes and shrugged. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She knew guys like him. She wasn't scared of them; she was friends with angry, addicted men who were rude most part of the time. She felt bad for yelling at him, so she tried to apologize, by making a joke. Which never worked.

"You're not gonna even offer me one?" She pointed to the cigarette.

"After you yelled at me?" He replied. "Fuck no."

"What, did I hurt your feelings now?" She mocked him. He laughed under his breath.

"I like you already, Mackling." He said.

She gave him a full smile and watched him finish his cigarette.

"Those folks are gonna die there." He said looking to the sky.

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Cherry, one thing you need to know 'bout me." He said picking a small bottle from the inside pocket of his leather vest. "I'm always right."

Lena observed while he put a little but of the white dust on his ring finger. "There's always a first time for everything." She said.

He looked at her. "Do you mind?" He raised his finger with the white dust.

She shrugged. "It's your ass."

~oOo~

"Whoa, I'm not dead!" Glenn yelled at the man who was pouting the gun to him. "C'mon!" He grabbed his vest and they ran through the alley. "Faster!" He shouted. Rick shot again at the walkers who were after them. The noise echoed in Glenn's ears. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He had done this a thousand times; it was simple. You get in, you get out. The first time he brings a group and everything goes to hell. They ran until they find the same ladder he had climbed with Lena, earlier.

They stopped at the first floor to catch a breath. "Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood." Glenn said. "You're the new sheriff? Come riding to clean up the town?"

Rick looked at him. "Wasn't my intention." He replied.

"Yeah, whatever, yeeha." Glenn mocked. "You're still a dumbass."

"Rick. Thank you." He stood the hand for Glenn.

"Glenn." He shook the police man's hand. "Don't thank me. Thank your sister later."

"My sister?" Rick asked confused.

"Yeah, Lena. She begged me to save you. Slapped me in the face." The Asian touched the side of his cheek. "She has heavy hands. Still hurts."

Rick frowned. He was surprise Lena would do this for him. He didn't know her much, but he knew he would do the same if it was with her.

"Yeah." The sheriff said. "I guess I have to thank her."

~oOo~

"How the hell will we get out of here?" Lena asked, looking down to the walkers on the street and leaning on the balcony.

"Got it." Merle said, saving the small bottle and climbing the balcony. He looked at the aim of his sniper gun. "Ain't you gonna say nothing?" He said looking over his shoulder. "That I shouldn't do it?"

Lena shook her head. "I should be polite with a man with a gun." She replied. "My father used to say that, but I'm pretty much sure it's common sense."

Merle smiled and started shooting some of the walkers down the street. Lena looked at him with a little small on her face. It wasn't working. Merle's aim was great, but the noise of the shoots was luring even more walkers to entering the building.

It didn't last long until the rest of the group comes running into the roof.

"Hey, Dixon!" The black guy yelled. "Are you crazy?!"

Merle laughed and kept shooting.

"And you're waiting bullets we ain't even got!" The guy yelled again.

"Hey!" Merle screamed back. "Ought to be polite to man with a gun." He jumped out of the roof and looked at Lena. "Only common sense."

Lena tried to not smile and looked over her shoulder. She saw the rest of the group and spotted Rick. He was without his sheriff hat and his gun bag. The girl called him, sprinted towards him and gave him a hug. Rick stood there, a little bit uncomfortable.

"You said I was your brother?" He whispered in her ear, hugging her too.

"I had to." She whispered back. "Glenn didn't want to save you, I had to think fast." She released him and walked towards Glenn.

"Thank you." She said hugging him and kissing his cheek. Glenn flushed and tried to cover. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Merle's screams.

"You wanna know the day?!"

"Yeah." The black guy answered.

"I'll tell the day, mister Yo." Merle mocked him. "It's the day I take orders from a nigger."

The black guy attacked merle and both of them started fighting. Rick tried to stop Merle, but he hit the police officer with his elbow; Rick fell on his back and Lena went running to him. The rest of the group watched, begging him to stop, while he beat the shit out of the guy, on the floor. Suddenly, Merle grabbed his gun and pointed to the black guy.

"No, no, please!" Andrea cried.

Everyone looked at Merle, wanting to know what he was going to do next. By this time, Rick was already on his feet, behind the redneck. Merle just looked at the man and spat on him.

"Yeah!" Merle exclaimed, standing up. "All right! We gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk 'bout who's in charge here! I vote me. Anybody else, huh? Democracy time, y'all! Show of hands, c'mon." Nobody made a move. "Oh, c'mon, y'all." Slowly, they started raising their hands, against their own will. The black woman, who was with the bloody black man on her arms, raised a middle finger to him. "All in favor? Yeah, that's good. Now that means I'm the boss man, huh? Anybody else? Huh?"

"Yeah." Rick said behind him. The officer hit in the head and the redneck fell on the floor. Rick took a handcuff and cuffed him into a piece of metal.

"Who the hell are you, man?" Merle asked, a little but dizzy from the hit in his head.

"Officer friendly." Rick answered. "Look, Merle. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore. No white-trash, dumb as shit either. Only black meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart."

"Screw you, man." Merle spat.

"Ought to be polite to a man with a gun." He pointed his gun to Merle's head. "Only common sense."

Merle laughed. "You wouldn't." He said. "You're a cop."

Rick approached him, putting his hands in Merle's pockets, searching for something. "All I am anymore is man looking for his wife and son. Anybody that gets in the way of that, is gonna lose." He found the small bottle on Merle's inner pocket. "Got something on your nose."

Merle laughed again. "What are you gonna do? Arrest me?"

Rick walked to the balcony and threw the bottle off the building.

"Hey!" Merle yelled. "That was my stuff! Man, if I get loose you better pray! You hear me, you pig?! You hear me?!"

"Yeah, your voice carries." Rick replied and walked away, with shaking hands.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**_ So, last chapter had a few grammar errors. A friend of mine noticed them and I tried to change it, but I couldn't. I'm so sorry. The truth is: I'm an amateur. I'm not American, I don't know how to write perfectly in English and I'm sorry. This fanfic will have more unnoticed mistakes, I'm aware of that and I'm already sorry. All I ask you is to ignore them.

With that being said, I wanna thank everyone who followed and favorited my story. I hope you enjoy this chapter (it's a little longer, but have some patience.).

~oOo~

"So, where you guys from?" Glenn asked, sitting next to Lena. They were separated from the group; Lena just wanted a moment by her own, but Glenn followed her and now they were talking. Well, Glenn was talking. Lena just pretended she was listening and nodded.

"Wash-" She interrupted herself. For a moment she forgot that everyone in this group thought she was Rick's little sister. She swallowed hard and started to lie again. "Um... King County."

Glenn nodded. Lena didn't say anything else; she didn't want to say something that could compromise her future with that group.

"How's that signal?" The guy known as Morales asked.

"Like Dixon's brain." The black man, T-Dog, replied. "Weak."

Merle flipped him off. Lena watched the scene in silence.

"Keep trying." Morales said.

"Why?" Andrea asked, a little bit nervous. "There's nothing they can do anyway. Not a fucking thing."

Lena looked at Rick, who was standing next to her. Both looked at each other confused.

"We got some people outside the city." Morales explained. "That is all. There's no refugee center. That's a pipe dream."

Rick looked disappointed. If there was no refugee center, Lori and Carl could be dead by then.

"Then she's right." He said. "It's up to us to find a way out of here."

"Good luck with that." Dixon said. "These streets ain't save in this part of town from what I hear." His husky voice echoing in Lena's mind.

She stood up and looked at Rick. "So what now what do we do?" She whispered.

Rick looked at her, confused. He wasn't sure why she was asking him. He wasn't her brother or her father or her leader. He was just a guy, trying to look for his wife and son. He was nothing more than a little participation on her past.

"I mean, with no refugee center." She snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are we gonna stay here? Or look for your wife and kid in another town?"

Rick looked her in the eyes. "You don't have to come with me." He answered. Lena frowned. "You can join this group. Move on."

"I said I was with you. That I was going to help you to find your family. I will come with you." Lena looked right into his eyes. Rick looked down, thinking in what to say he thanked her in his mind. He wouldn't take traveling alone. Like she said, no one can make it alone. He took a deep breath before answering her.

"We'll see. Now let's focus on getting out of here alive."

Lena nodded. The group was in silence, like they were waiting for something happen. A miracle or something like that. She also wanted to get out of there; the sun was killing her. When something popped out in her mind, she swallowed hard before speaking.

"What about under the streets? The sewers?"

"Oh, man!" Morales exclaimed. "Glenn, check out the alley, see if there is any metal covers."

Glenn ran to the other side of the roof and then got back. "No." He said. "Must be all in the streets where the geeks are."

"Maybe not." The black women, Jacqui, said. "Old buildings like this were build in the 20s; big structures, often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case if flooding. Down in the sub basements."

"How do you know that?" Glenn asked.

"It's my job... Was. I worked on the city zoning office."

"Okay, so let's go then." Glenn said.

Everybody started to gather around to go the stairs except for Lena.

"You're not coming?" Morales asked her. "Your brother is."

Rick overheard the talk and decided to intervene.

"She's not actually my-"

"Uh, he wants me to say." Lena interrupted him. "He's such a protective brother... He doesn't want me to get hurt."

Rick just looked at Lena, but she wasn't looking at him. He wasn't sure why she wanted to those people to think that they were siblings. It was pointless, Glenn already had saved him from the tank; the truth would come out anyway. But he didn't say anything. He gave her one last look and then followed the group.

Now there was only Lena, Merle and T-Dog in that roof. T-Dog was still trying to contact his group. Lena sat where she and Glenn were sitting a few moments before. She looked to the sky and saw that some clouds started to cover the bright sun. The air was still hot, but at least the sun wasn't burning their heads anymore.

"Anybody out there?" T-Dog tried once more. Lena was starting to get tired of the sound of his voice. "Hello? Anybody hear? I'm hoping to hear somebody's voice, 'cause I'm getting sick and tired of hearing mine."

"You and I both." Merle said. "Why won't you knock that crap off? You're giving me a headache, boy." He spat on the floor.

"Why won't pull your head out of your ass?" T-Dog replied. "Maybe your headache will go away."

Lena thought Merle was going to lose it again, but he only chuckled.

"Try some positivity for a change." T-Dog said.

"I tell you what." Merle said. "You get me out of these cuffs and I'll be all Sammy Sunshine positive for you." T-Dog didn't answer.

"Hey." Merle caught his attention. "See that hacksaw over there in the tool bag?" He pointed to a small bag that was a few meters away from them. "Get it for me, huh? Make it worth your while. C'mon, get me out of those things."

"So you can beat my ass again?" The other man said. "Or call me nigger some more?"

"Oh, c'mon now. It wasn't personal, y'know. It's just my kind and your kind ain't meant to mix. But that doesn't mean we can't... Work together, y'know. As partners."

"I guess you want me to get that rifle over too, so you can that cop and he gets back, right?"

Merle laughed.

"Just... Think positive." T-Dog said.

Lena laughed under her breath, shaking her head. She didn't expect they would listen.

"You got something to say." T-Dog asked, rough. "Huh?"

Lena took a deep breath before answering. "I just don't think that 'thinking positive' will help getting us out of here."

"You know, it's your fault we're still here." The black man said.

She narrowed her eyes and looked at him. "How is that?"

"It was you who convinced Glenn to save Rick and then he shot all those biters and now we're trapped!"

The girl raised her eyebrows and gave him a mocking smile. "Yeah, okay." She looked away again. She had learned, a few years ago, that sarcasm is the best way to "block out the haters". Except that she didn't expect to have haters in the end of the world.

"Thanks a lot for that." The man said.

"You're welcome." She said looking at him and smiling brightly. "At least now I have my family with me. Do you have your family with you?"

T-Dog didn't answer. She could hear Merle's laugh, but she didn't look at him. She was focused on T-Dog, who eventually gave up, sighing and looking down. Even though what she said was a lie, she couldn't help but feel satisfied with the feeling of winning an argument.

~oOo~

"Hey, Cherry." Merle called Lena. She looked at him a little suspicious. "You got something to drink?"

He was so thirsty he could drink the whole sea right there. He couldn't even remember the last time he drank a little bit of water or even ate something. Now that the clouds weren't covering the sun anymore, his thirst was bigger than before.

Lena opened her backpack and took her bottle of water. It was half empty, but still she gave it to Merle. And he drank it all. She stood there beside him, awkwardly waiting for him to return her bottle. But he didn't. He, instead, told her to come closer to him. She knelt down next to him, looking at his blue eyes.

"Did I told you I like you, Mackling?" He said, with the voice low. Lena nodded.

"Yes...?" She answered.

"What do you say we bump some uglies?" He looked in her eyes. "You can sit on my lap, y'know."

Lena held her smile. There was something on him that made her feel like she was just a horny teenager. She was twenty years old, for fuck's sake. She wanted this as bad as he wanted; it's not like she had much time to do it since the apocalypse began. Or even before. She would be lying if she said she didn't think about it.

"I think I wouldn't be comfortable with a man looking." She whispered back, eyeing T-Dog, who was still trying to contact his camp. Merle chuckled. Lena smiled a little bit. "Besides, I'm on my lady days."

"You're not scared of me, or something?" He asked. She frowned.

"What?" She said, sitting next to him. "Of course not. Why would I be?"

"'Cause I just harassed you."

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You didn't harass me." She replied, looking away.

"How come?"

She shrugged. "It's not harassment if you like it."

Merle smiled. He was starting to like that girl, and suddenly felt the will of being closer to her, get to know her. He wanted to know every single detail of her body. He would do this right in that moment if he could. He had been with a lot of women; some of them were just hookers that he paid to satisfy his desires at the moment.

"Maybe we could try some other time." He said to her. "When we're alone and... You're... Good to go."

She laughed. "Yeah. Maybe." _What the hell. Gonna die anyway. _

She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Oh, thank God." T-Dog said. "Please tell there's a way out of here."

"The sewers are impossible." Glenn said. T-Dog sighed in disappointment.

"Lena." Rick called her. When she looked at him he beckoned her and the girl got up. He walked a few meters, getting away from the group. "We gotta stop lying to them."

Lena frowned. "Why?"

"It just..." He stopped for a moment. The truth was he didn't know why. It really didn't make any difference if they were brothers or not. Except if they find Lori and Carl. "If we find Lori, she'll be confused, I never had any sister-"

"So when we find her, we'll tell them." Lena said with a confident smile. "Don't worry, brother. We'll be fine."

Rick noticed the emphasis on the word "brother" when she said it. He watched her walking away and picking up her baseball bat from the floor. Truth was Lena didn't think that they could find his family. And he knew that. Her attitude showed that. He turned around, looking at the streets full of walkers. He didn't want to admit it, but she was right. He spotted a truck not far from here.

"Those trucks down there." He said out loud. "They always keep keys on hand."

Everyone went to his side.

"You'll never make it past the walkers." Morales said.

"You got me out of that tank." Rick said to Glenn.

"Yeah, but they were feeding." The Asian boy replied. "They were distracted."

"Can we distract them again?"

"Right." Merle laughed. "Listen to him. He's onto something."

Jacqui sighed. "God, give it a break." She said.

"They're drawn by sound right?" Rick ignored Merle. "What else?"

"They see you." Morales answered. "Smell you and if they catch you, they eat you,"

Everyone went silent again. "What if we make it like they can't smell us?" Lena said. Rick looked at her, already knowing what to do.

"And how are you gonna do that?" Andrea said.

"The guts." Rick said. "If we rub their guts on us, they won't smell us."

"That's gross!" Jacqui exclaimed.

"And genius." Glenn said. "We're gonna do it guys. Let's go."

Rick walked towards Lena and held her shoulders. She wasn't feeling okay; only the thought of them gutting a walker made her almost puke.

"I think it's better if you stay here." He said.

"No shit." She replied.

"Take care." He looked on her eyes. "With him." He beckoned to Merle.

"He's handcuffed... I'll be fine, don't worry."

Rick looked at her and took a deep breath. If the others thought they were siblings, he had to do something. Something to show them that they were family. He pulled her closer, putting a hand on her neck. Lena, for a second, thought he was going to kiss her, but when he put an arm on her back, she got it. He was hugging her. She hugged him back, with one arm crushed between his chest and hers, the other one wrapped around his waist. He let go of her and gave her a small smile.

"Good luck." She said. He nodded and walked away, leaving Lena Mackling once more on that roof with Merle Dixon.

~oOo~

The thunders were frequent now. The clouds had covered the entire sky, and it looked like it going to have a storm.

"I guess it's meant to be, huh?" Merle said, snapping Lena out of her thoughts. "It's the third time you got stuck with me in this roof."

She laughed. "Stop flirting with me, Dixon." She said, smiling. "I thought you were the kind of guy who just get there and do it."

"I am, but you forget one tiny little detail." He said, looking at her entire body. "I'm still handcuffed."

She looked at him, sitting in front of him, where T-Dog was sitting before.

"C'mon." He winked at her. "Get that tool bag over there, will ya?"

She raised one eyebrow. He kept trying to convince her. "I'll give you whatever you want."

Lena looked at his crotch for one second and Merle laughed. "But only if you hand me the tool bag."

She didn't know what to say. She knew that in the moment he was free, he would hurt Rick. Maybe that other black guy too. But Rick, mostly. She sighed and looked away. Merle didn't say anything else, just went quiet.

"He's not my brother." She told him.

"I know." He answered. "You told me earlier."

"I thought you said you didn't care."

"I don't. But I never said I didn't believe ya."

She nodded. The thunders were louder than before now and the air was colder. It was starting to wind and Lena had to pull down her sleeves.

The sound of the roof door opening startled both of them. The group came running, except for Rick and Glenn.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Merle asked, but everyone ignored him. Lena stood up and ran towards them.

"Did it work?" She asked.

"Yes!" Jacqui exclaimed. Lena smiled.

"T-Dog, try that CB." Morales ordered.

"Base camp, this is T-Dog." He tried. "Anybody hear me?"

"C'mon!" Merle said once more. "Talk to me, y'all!"

"Glenn and Rick are out there." Lena answered, smiling. "We're gonna get out of here. Alive."

"That asshole is out there with the handcuff keys?" Merle asked. Lena rolled her eyes. T-Dog called him and showed the keys Rick had gave him earlier. Merle groaned.

The group began to feel the first raindrops on their skins. It only took a few seconds for they be soaked wet.

"It's just a cloudburst. We get them all the time." Morales said.

"They're leaving us!" Andrea exclaimed.

"What?!" Lena and Merle exclaimed together. The girl ran to the balcony, but couldn't spot them. All she saw were walkers.

"Where are them?" She asked, but nobody answered.

Suddenly, an alarming noise echoed the streets.

"It's them!" Morales screamed through the storm. "Take your things, now!"

Everyone started to gather their things, including Lena who put her backpack on her back.

"T-Dog!" She called. "Release Merle!"

T-Dog didn't answer. He was picking the tool bag from the floor. He walked passed Lena and Merle like if they weren't even there.

"Hey, man!" Merle yelled. "You can't leave me here, c'mon! You can't leave me!"

"He's not gonna leave you!" Lena said to him. She ran towards the black man. "What the hell are you thinking?!"

T-Dog groaned and turned around, dropping the tool bag. Lena sighed, relieved. For a second she thought Merle was going to stay behind. Her joy didn't last much when she saw T-Dog trip over something and drop the key _into a drain. _

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Lena mumbled to herself.

"Son of a bitch!" Merle shouted. "You did that on purpose!"

"I didn't mean to!" T-Dog said, staring up.

"You liar!" Merle accused him. Lena ran to them, almost tripping in the wet floor.

"Don't leave me, man!" Merle cried.

"I'm sorry, man." T-Dog said getting away. "Come one, Lena!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" She yelled. "You're gonna leave him?!"

"You got any better idea?" The black man said. "We don't have time!"

Lena narrowed her eyes to see through the storm. "I'm not gonna leave him." She said.

"Oh, come on!"

"I'm staying." She said.

"What am I gonna say to your brother?"

"The truth." She replied. "That you left us."

She watched T-Dog give up and run to the door, as Merle screamed and cursed him.

_Coward._

~oOo~

A few hours passed by, and the rain had already passed. Lena and Merle were both soaked wet. There was only silence now. It wasn't until the sun started to go down that Lena spoke.

"They left us." Her voice was. Nothing more than a whisper.

"You only realized that now, genius?" Merle scoffed at her.

"They're not coming back." She said. Anger started to fill her chest up.

_To the hell with them all. _

She turned around and went in the direction of the tool bag. She took the hacksaw and went back to Merle.

"Whoa, what are you doin'?" He protested when she knelt down to him.

"I'm getting you off these handcuffs." She replied, starting to saw the chain of the handcuffs.

~oOo~

"What do you mean you left Lena there?!" Glenn exclaimed to T-Dog. "With Merle?!"

"She wanted to stay!" T-Dog said. "And I dropped the damn key."

Glenn kicked the dirty on the floor. He looked at the sunset with his hands on his head, looking disappointed.

Rick had found his family. Lena was wrong, he found them. The police officer was so happy, that he didn't even remembered the girl until Glenn say her name.

"Who's Lena?" Lori asked. Rick got up of his chair and put a hand on his wife shoulder.

"She saved me." He whispered. "Told Glenn I was her brother so he could save me too. He still believes that."

Lori looked at him, with widened eyes and nodded.

"We're going back, right?" Glenn said. "To save her."

The group was silent. Nobody wanted to get Merle back; nobody liked him. Rick looked at Lori.

"You're not serious." Lori said.

"It's your sister in law!" Glenn exclaimed.

"Calm down, boy." Dale said to him.

"There is a girl." He whispered. "She's just a girl, and she's with him. He's dangerous, I already know that."

"Rick-"

"We'll see this in the morning." Rick said out loud to everyone hear it.

Glenn sighed in disappointment. He wanted to save her. He wanted to be the one who would take her away from Merle's claws. He wanted that, because since she tried to kill him with his baseball bat, she never left his mind then.

~oOo~

"Merle, don't make me do this." Lena said, with a trembling voice.

"It's the only way." Merle said, getting angry. "If you don't do this, then I will!"

Lena took a deep breath. The hacksaw was too week for the handcuff chains, and Merle told Lena to cut his hand out, so he could escape. Only the thought of it made Lena's stomach churn. She took another deep breath and took the hacksaw from the floor.

"Use your belt as a tourniquet." She said. Merle took off his belt and wrapped in his arm. Lena helped him to tighten the leather on him. She pressed the hacksaw on his wrist, preparing herself for what was coming. Merle was nervous as well; he kept breathing deeply all the time.

"This is gonna hurt." Lena whispered.

"Just do it already, will ya?!"

Lena stopped for a moment. She felt her stomach churn again.

"Goddammit, give me the damn-" Merle interrupted himself to scream. Lena started sawing his hand in the moment he was starting to talk. She could hear the screams grow louder when she reached the bones. Her stomach was churning. There was blood everywhere. In the moment she saw the red, she stopped.

"Don't stop!" Merle shouted. Lena turned around and puked. "Fuck!" Merle yelled once more and took the hacksaw. Through the pain, he started to saw his own hand. And he screamed even more.

Lena was with her back to him, still vomiting. His screams made worse. Suddenly, he stopped screaming and started cursing. When she looked at him, she saw pain in his eyes.

She stood up and saw the hand. She looked at Merle and saw the stump. She turned around and puked once more.

"Dammit!" She heard Merle's screams. She ran towards her backpack and took one of the white tops she had found on the police department, back in King County. She pressed the shirt in Merle's stump, making him scream even more. She tried to focus in anything else. The dawn, the other buildings around, Merle's agonized face. Anything that kept her distracted from the blood. Both of them were panting. When Merle stopped screaming, he went silent. Lena swallowed hard before speaking.

"It's getting dark." She said. "We need to go."

Merle didn't say a word. He tried to get up, but he was in pain. Lena helped him to stand on his feet. She picked up her backpack and her baseball bat and followed him to the door of the roof.

They went down the stairs in a quick step and in silence. The building were empty, there was no walkers and the lasts floors. When they reached what it seemed a party saloon, there were two walkers on the kitchen. The creatures spotted them at the same time Lena and Merle did. Lena swung her baseball bat and hit one in the head, making its brains splatter on the opposite wall. The other one went straight in her direction, taking her by surprise. Merle ran to them and held the walker with one hand. His only hand, now. He pinned the walker against a wall, struggling with the pain on his stump.

"Find something sharp!" He yelled at her. Lena ran to balcony and opened the drawer.

Empty. She opened the second one and found a big kitchen knife. She took and went to the walk where Merle was. Without hesitating, she stabbed the walker in the eye socket. The dead went numb and Merle let go of him. When the walker fell on the floor, Lena was still holding the knife; she looked at it, the eyeball of the person who was dead got stuck on the knife. She dropped it and vomited again on the floor.

"Shit, girl, you got some stomach problem or something?" Merle said lighting the stove and taking the belt off his arms. "Or you gonna say you're one if those people who has problem in seeing blood?"

"Kinda like the second option." She answered, whipping her mouth. She turned around and saw Merle put an iron plate on the stove fire. "What are you doing?!"

"Gotta stop the bleeding." Merle answered, without looking at her. "Watch the door for me."

"Are you gonna burn it?!" She exclaimed.

"You got any better idea?!" He raised his voice. "Besides, I'm sick and tired of seeing you puking every time. Now watch the door, those things might hear me."

Lena sighed and obeyed the man. Merle waited to the plate to get hot enough. He took a deep breath himself and touched the plate on his stump. It hurt even more than before. He didn't scream, but let out a loud groan. The skin burned and peeled out; Merle suddenly felt sick and dizzy. Pain was all he felt.

"They're coming!" Lena yelled running to the kitchen. There were six walkers behind her. She couldn't kill one with her bat without the others attack her. She entered the kitchen to see Merle sitting on the floor, his back against the counter, eyes closed and his skin pale. Lena closed the kitchen door behind her and soon heard the loud banging from the walkers. "Merle!" She exclaimed, crouching next to him and touching his face. He was burning up. "Merle, wake up!" She shook him, but he didn't even move. With the lack of option, she slapped him right in the face. He snapped his eyes open and started cursing.

"What the fuck?!" He exclaimed.

"You passed out." Lena said, standing up. "We don't have time for this." She helped him to get up and they ran to the window. Lena tried to open but it was stuck. Merle wanted to try but she didn't let him. With her bat, she broke the glass window and both started to climb the fire ladder down. It was already dark and they would not survive one night in the city in the dark. Lena looked back and saw Merle starting to lose it again. She knew they had to stop, both had to rest. She stopped at the first floor, and saw one window open.

"Merle, c'mon!" She called him, holding his houlders. He followed her, without protesting. Lena entered the apartment, Merle right behind her. She sat him on the corner of the living room and opened her backpack. She took the 9mm Rick had gave her and put on his hands.

"You got a gun with you all the time?" He asked, breathing deeply.

"I don't like using it." She answered. "Stay here, I'm going to check this place."

She stood up and got away from him. The last thing he saw was her silhouette getting in the hallway.

~oOo~

Lena s at on the armchair, breathless. When she had returned to the living room, Merle was unconscious. She had thought about laying him on one of the bedrooms, but then she found out that whoever lived here owned a sofa-bed. With a little effort she had laid him on it; Merle was burning up in fever. She had thought about looking for medicine, but first, she had dragged the fridge in front of the apartment door, just in case some of those things tried to get in the apartment. She had found some candles on the kitchen cabinets and had kit three of them up. She also had closed the curtains, just out of habit. She didn't like sleep with the curtains open.

There she was; in a stranger's apartment, with a man she barely knew. She still couldn't believe T-Dog had left them. Left them to die in a roof. This is not what people should do in days like these. Of course Merle was an asshole, and a racist, and a sexist, and the list goes on. But he was still human. He wouldn't make it on his own. Maybe he would be able to cut his own hand; he was tough as nails, she knew that. But going out there, in the dark? On his own? _No one can make it alone. _Not even Merle.

She decided to look for supplies on the apartment. She picked up a candle and went to the closest bedroom. It was an office. There was a shelf with thousands of books and papers. All kind of books and papers. Whoever lived there must had a boring job. Right under the window there was a desk with an old computer sitting still there. Lena opened the drawers but didn't find anything useful. Only some pens and scotch tape; it wasn't even duck tape. When she got out of the room, she heard Merle's moans coming from the living room. She ran to him to see that he was still unconscious, but was burning up in fever. She had to find medicine and fast. But instead of going back to the hallway, she went to the kitchen. There was only some kind of balcony that separated the kitchen from the living room. She could still see Merle from there. She opened every single drawer until she found a rag; turned the tap on and hoped they still had water. When the cold liquid touched her skin, she wet the rag on it and twisted the piece of fabric. Coming back to Merle, she put the rag on his head.

"This will low your fever." She whispered to him. "Just... Hang in there until I find some medicine."

Lena got back to the hallway, this time going to the bathroom. There was a big sink with four toothbrushes on a pot together with two toothpastes. The mirror that was there was huge. Lena looked at herself and shook her head. She hadn't seen how she looked like with the new hair cut until that moment. It wasn't a big deal, but she kinda liked it. Sighing, she crouched to the cabinet under the sink. She found some toilet paper, hand towels, some sink products, and what she needed: a few more tampons.

But still no medicine. She took the tampons and the toilet paper from the cabinet and got back to the living room, where Merle was quiet now. The only sound coming from him was his deep breathing. She then got back to the hallway. She entered the next room and saw a kid room. So there was a family.

"That explains the four toothbrushes." She murmured to herself. It was a twin's room; one side of the room was blue and the other was pink. A boy and a girl. There were toys everywhere together with some kid clothes, lying on the floor. She didn't find anything useful, so she moved on to the next bedroom.

The king sized bed was still perfectly tidy, like if the couple that lived there would get there in any minute. There were a few clothes lying on the floor. It used to be a family who lived here. A perfect little family. She saw the photo frames on the counter. There was a blonde beautiful woman with two little blonde kids beside her. On the other picture there was a dark haired man beside the same woman. Lena's eyes began to tear up as she remembered her own family. She shook her head and started to look for what she came there for: medicine. She noticed another door, near that bed and opened. It was another bathroom. But that one was simple. It was small and had a mirror cabinet above the sink. She opened and saw all kind of medicine.

"Bingo." She said, taking the medicine. There were a lot of anti-depressives, and pain killers.

"I guess this family wasn't as happy as I thought." She shrugged. There wasn't any medicine to low Merle's fever, but the pain killers were great.

Lena got back to the living room and went straight to the kitchen. She looked for a glass and when she found it, she filled with water. She took the pain killer bottle and picked up one capsule of it. Then, she heard Merle's voice.

"Daryl." He mumbled. Lena looked behind her and saw that he was still passed out. She walked towards him and out the glass of water on the telephone table. "Daryl." He repeated.

"Merle." Lena called him. He didn't answer. "Merle, I found some medicine. It'll kill your pain." She gently shook him, but he didn't wake up. "C'mon, Merle, you can do it this."

"Cherry." He mumbled.

"Yes!" Lena exclaimed. "It's me, Cherry. C'mon, man, you gotta take the medicine."

Merle opened his eyes and looked at her.

"There you go." She said. "How are you feeling?"

The man mumbled some weird things that Lena didn't even get it. He was with his eyes open, but he was still passed out. She still nodded to him, pretending to understand his conversation.

"That's great, but look." She took the water glass from the table. "You have to take this."

"I'm not taking anything you give me, you cock-sucker!" He exclaimed. He was dreaming. "I'll put your head in your fucking ass and make you eat your own shit!"

"Creative." She mumbled to herself. His eyes started to close again, but Lena didn't let it.

"No, no, no!" She said, thinking fast. "It's a new kind of drug. I don't think you've had it before, it's called meth."

"Course I had it before, what do you think I am, Cherry?"

Lena frowned. He was delirious.

"Well, it's-"

"Just give me the damn thing." Merle interrupted her, taking the medicine off her hands and putting on his mouth. Lena gave him the glass of water and he drank it. She sighed, relived. Merle closed his eyes, passing out again. She took the rag of his head and touched his forehead. The fever had lowered, but not enough. She got back to the kitchen and wet the rag again, twisting it to make it humid, and put in Merle's forehead again. Taking the first aid kit, she bandaged Merle's stump.

She sat on the armchair again, thinking about where she was going to sleep. She wouldn't sleep on the same bed as Merle or in that armchair. Suddenly, she had an idea and stood up. She ran to the kids' bedroom and dragged one of the mattresses of one of the bed to the living room and place right beside the couch were Merle was. Then, she ran to the couple's bedroom and took the two pillows and two of the blankets. When she got back, she carefully put Merle's head above one of the fluffy pillows and tucked him in with the blanket. She blew two of the candles that were in the kitchen and placed the last one on the floor beside her mattress.

Lena didn't want to think too much in that moment. It was silent. Back at King County, the walkers' moans and groans were loud, and sometimes she couldn't sleep at night. But in that apartment, she couldn't hear anything besides Merle's heavy breathing. She looked at the ceiling and felt her eyelids heavy. She sighed and blew the last candle.

"Good night, Merle."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_ So. I wasn't going to post this chapter this week because, I'm gonna be honest: I was feeling like shit. I was sad, because I had a writer's block and I couldn't finish writing chapter eight. But something really cool happened: you. Your reviews kept me going. It's really fun for me to know that you guys like my story.

**To ****Sinvisigoth****:** Yes, I wish she remembered the gun too, but I don't think shooting a chain would solve the problem. There were a lot of zombies trying to get into that roof and the gunshot would probably draw even more of them. But yeah, I haven't thought about that. And thanks for saying that I have a "nice natural writing style", you made me smile like an idiot in front of people but it was totally worth it!

**To Hadley:** I love you, ok. Thank you so much for encouraging me and supporting me in this thing. You're my fave. I LOVE YOU.

**To Marion (guest):** I DON'T SPEAK FRENCH, I'M SO SORRY.

Anyway, thanks a lot for everything. This chapter was a pain in the ass to write, and it will probably be a pain in the ass to read. But _please_, have patience. It gets better, I promise you. Enjoy :)

~oOo~

"It's not Rick's fault." T-Dog said to Daryl. They had just dropped the news to Merle's brother, Daryl. "I had the keys. I dropped it."

"Couldn't you just pick it up?" Daryl replied, breathless from the effort he did a few minutes before, when he tried to kill Rick.

"I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog rolled his eyes.

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Look." Rick said, looking at Daryl's eyes. "T-Dog said he chained the door, so the geeks won't come and get him. Besides, he's not alone up there."

"What do you mean?" Daryl asked, frowning.

"His sister is still there." Glenn answered, a little bit anxious.

"She wanted to stay." T-Dog explained. "Said she wouldn't leave him alone."

"Well, seems like she's the only one who got the brain to do something good!" Daryl snapped. "Just tell me where he is, so I can go get them."

"He'll show." Lori said, leaned on the RV. She was listening the conversation in silence. "Right?"

"I'm going back." Rick said.

"For the girl." Lori completed him. He just nodded and walked away.

"Could you just tell me why?" Shane said to him, making his way toward his best friend. "Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle?"

"Hey, choose your words carefully." Daryl warned him.

"No, I did." He replied. "Douchebag is exactly what I meant. Merle Dixon. The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"Did you hear me?!" Glenn snapped. "There is a damn girl there! We can't leave her too."

"And why is this girl so special, huh?" Shane asked him, with his hands on his hips. Glenn flushed and looked at the ground. He mumbled a few words, but nobody understood what he was saying.

"Glenn, you have a crush on my sister?" Rick asked, with a half smile on his face. Glenn didn't answered and started to walk away.

"We're losing time!" He said, entering on his tent.

~oOo~

Lena woke up with the groans of Merle; he was talking nonsense again. She stretched and yawned, getting up. She opened the curtains to see the sun shining outside. It was now better to see the apartment, since they don't need the candles to enlighten the place. She walked to kitchen, filled a glass with tap water and drank it. Merle kept mumbling things like "I'm gonna kill you, you piece of shit." Or "that's my deer, motherfucker!"

Lena saw the pain killers sitting on the sink and filled another glass of water. She took the medicine and walked towards Merle.

"That's right, you heard me, bitch." He mumbled. Lena sat on his side and took the old rag she had put last night on his forehead. "You got a problem?" He continued talking. "Bring it on if you're man enough. Or take it up the chain if you're a pussy. That's right you heard me. You pussy-ass noncom bitch. Take it up the damn chain of command or you can kiss my lil' white ass."

"That was-" Lena started to talk, but unconscious Merle interrupted her.

"Oh, you should've seen the look on his face when I punched out his front teeth. Yeah, five of 'em. Just like that." He smiled. "Oh, my God, sixteen months in the stockade... That's what them teeth cost me. But it was worth every minute of it, oh yeah it was. Just to see that prick spit his teeth out in the ground. Yes sir, worth every minute."

Lena watched him going crazy in silence. "That was... Pretty intense." She said. "But now, you need your medicine."

Merle sighed. "Mackling, is that you?" He said with his eyes closed.

"Yeah!" Lena exclaimed surprise he still remember her last name. "It's me."

"You trying to kill me again?" Merle mumbled.

"What- no! I'm trying to save you!" She handed the pill to him. "Will stop the pain, I promise you."

"Ain't nobody can kill a Dixon... But a Dixon."

"I'm not trying to kill you, okay? I promise you."

She tried to put the pill on his mouth, but he kept moving and struggling to not let her give him the medicine. She stopped fighting him for a moment, thinking about what to do, while Merle was mumbling. She looked at kitchen and had an idea.

"Hey, Merle." She said with a half smile on her face. "You hungry?"

The word 'hungry' seemed to "caught his attention", because he stopped mumbling and went silent. "Do you like corn?" She asked, but he didn't answer. Lena got up and walked to the kitchen again. Merle started mumbling again. She picked up her backpack from the floor. From there, she took the corn can and searched for a can opener. She didn't find one, so she took a knife from the knife drawer; there was all kind of knifes there. She also searched for a bowl, where she found one on one of the cabinets above the sink. She opened the can and put the corn there. With the butt of the knife, she broke the pill until it turned into dust. She poured the dust on the food and mixed.

"Here." She said, sitting back beside Merle. "I hope you like it. It's corn." Merle didn't answer.

"Merle, please." She kept talking to him. He still didn't move. She sighed. She felt her eyes tearing up. She didn't want to cry in front of him, even if he was asleep. She put the bowl on the phone table and ran to the bathroom.

~oOo~

"Merle's first or the guns?" Rick asked. The four men, T-Dog, Glenn, Daryl and himself passed through the fence that connected the woods and the city. Glenn exclaimed Lena's name at the same time Daryl exclaimed his brother's.

"We're not having this conversation." Daryl growled. Rick didn't answer.

"They're closer anyway." Glenn explained. "Going for the guns would mean doubling back."

Rick nodded in silence. He knew that he was supposed to pretend to care about Lena, but there was no point anymore. He had find Lori and Carl, there was no reason for lying anymore. He considered telling Glenn and the others the truth; that he hadn't any sister and never had. But first, he needed to find Lena.

"Hey, Rick." Glenn called him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "When we find your sister... Can you... Not tell about what you said back at the camp?"

Rick looked at the boy. He was looking away, but still was blushing.

"That you have a crush on her?" He asked.

"I don't have a crush on her!" He said too fast, making Rick smirk.

"Okay." Rick looked away, still smiling.

They continued their way in silence until they reached the building they were in the last day. Daryl started running towards it, anxious to find his brother. He ignored Rick's callings and ran faster. When they reached the top of the building, he started to call his brother's name. T-Dog cut the chain with the pliers they had brought. As the door was open, Daryl ran expecting to find Merle passed out or angry. But he never expected to see what he saw. He started to sobbing and screaming, looking at his brother's hand that lay on the floor. Glenn felt sick when he realized what was about. He felt like he was going to puke his breakfast. Lena wasn't there with him. They were gone. Rick just stared at it, like if it was the last thing from Merle he would ever find.

For one second, Daryl stopped crying and turned around with his crossbow pointed to T-Dog's head. He didn't want to kill him, but the voice on his head was too loud. _He left my brother. He deserves to die._ Rick was faster and pointed his python to Daryl's head.

"I won't hesitate." He said. "I don't care if every walker in the city hears it."

Daryl blinked a few times, realizing Rick was being honest and lowered the crossbow. T-Dog sighed in relief and Rick lowered his gun as well. Daryl stared at T-Dog for awhile and spoke up.

"You, uh. Have a rag or somethin'?"

T-Dog picked up a rag from his pocket and gave it to Daryl. He sighed, frustrated and walked over the hand.

"I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs." He said, while putting his hands on the rag. "Ain't that a bitch." He walked towards Glenn and put the hand on his backpack. He picked up his crossbow and saw the blood on the floor. "He must have used a tourniquet." He said. "Maybe his belt. Be more blood if he didn't."

"What about her?" Glenn asked.

"She was with him when it happened." Rick pointed to the dry vomit on the floor. "She has some... Problem. Can't see blood without puking."

"Weak." Daryl mumbled. Rick narrowed his eyes to him. Daryl saw the blood trail on the floor and followed, calling his brother. The others followed him, until they reached the party saloon. They saw blood splattered on the wall and a walker with the skull smashed on the floor.

"Lena's baseball bat." Glenn said.

"Huh?" Daryl murmured.

"Rick's sister has a baseball bat, maybe she did this." He explained. Daryl didn't answer him and looked at the other walker on the floor. Beside it, there was another dry vomit and a bloody knife.

"Guess she was with him here too." He said.

"What's that?" T-Dog pointed to a bloody rag on the floor. Rick walked towards it and picked it up. It wasn't a rag; it was one of Lena's top shirts.

"That's hers." He said out loud.

Glenn took a deep breath. He was the one who wanted to find Lena more than anyone in that group. He didn't know why. He just wanted to find her. Truth was he wanted to be in a relationship with someone. That camp back in the quarry didn't have many women for him, and he hoped Lena could be the one.

Daryl noticed a stove that was still lighted and melted belt sitting on top of it. He also noticed an iron plate with some burned thing on it. Rick noticed as well and took it.

"What's that burned stuff?" Daryl asked.

"Skin." Rick answered.

Glenn felt his stomach churn. He looked away and bent over, leaning his hands on his knees.

"Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother." Daryl said. "Feed him a hammer and he'd crap out nails. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."

"Don't take that on faith." Rick putting the plate where it was before. "He's lost a lot of blood."

Daryl looked at the broken window at the opposite wall. "Yeah?" He said. "Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap." He pointed to the window.

"They left the building?!" Glenn exclaimed. "Why the hell would they do that?!"

"Why wouldn't they?" Daryl replied. "They're out there, doing what they got to do. Surviving."

"You call that surviving?" T-Dog said. "Wandering around the streets, maybe passing out?"

"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks!" Daryl raised his voice. Glenn and T-Dog rolled their eyes. "And you left the girl too!"

"She wanted to stay!" T-Dog explained.

"That's what you said." Daryl mumbled. "Just do what you want, I'm gonna go get them."

Rick put a hand on Daryl's chest, stopping him from walking. "Daryl, wait."

"Get your hands off me!" He protested. "You can't stop me!"

"I don't blame you." Rick said with the voice low. "He's family, I get that. I went thought hell to find mine. My sister is out there too. I know exactly how you feel. Merle can't get far with that injury. We could help you but only if we keep a level head."

Daryl looked to the ground and nodded. "I could do that." He answered.

~oOo~

When Lena had got out of the bathroom, the corn bowl was empty. She hadn't understood how, but there was only Merle there with her in the apartment. She had tried to wake him up, but he was still burning up in fever. After changing his bandage, she had searched for more food on the cabinets; just one cereal box.

After eating, she had found out that the lights were cut, but the gas system was still working, so there was hot water to take shower in that apartment. She had looked for new clothes for her and for Merle. She found a few social shirts that hadn't fit her; some super heroes t-shirts that actually had fit her; two man pants, that would fit Merle and a coat that seemed it belonged to a football college team.

After taking a shower, she spent the day trying to wake Merle, but he seemed to be in some kind of coma. He was still burning up in fever, but she hadn't any medicine to give him. She had gave up and tried to find something useful to do. She found out that not all the books in the office were so boring. She found a book about Greek mythology, and found out that was really interesting. She read until the dawn. When there was no light to read, she tried to sleep on her mattress, but spent the most part of the night looking at the ceiling in the dark. It weren't easy to sleep even before the dead started walking, and it was even harder now. She sighed and thought about Rick. She hoped that he would find his family someday. She hoped that he would find them and actually loved in this world. She hoped that he survived; she hoped that he was fine.

~oOo~

On the second day, Lena woke up with Merle's groans again. He kept calling Daryl, and, occasionally, he called for Lena. It was easier this time to give him the medicine. He didn't struggled like before, but also, didn't wake up. Lena ate, took another shower, and kept reading her book. After awhile, she fed unconscious Merle, and got back to her book. Another day had passed and she didn't get out of Merle's side. She felt somehow responsible for him. Besides, she couldn't just leave him there. He would hunt her down and kill her, she knew that. So she just read her book and changed the humid rag when it was dry.

~oOo~

On the third day, Merle wasn't mumbling anymore. Lena thought he was dead, but he was still breathing. His fever was lowering slowly, but she didn't know if it was a good sign. She didn't even know what he had.

Leaving the thoughts aside, she got up and ate the last cereal of the box on her "bed"; while she was reading another book she had picked up on the office. That one was about the Second World War. She read where ever she went. On the bathroom, preparing food for Merle, eating; she just couldn't take her eyes off that book.

In the evening, she took a shower. She put a super hero shirt she had found earlier and the same black jeans she used every day.

Then, she heard the rumble.

It wasn't anything like she had ever heard before. The ground shook a little for a second, but nothing beyond that. She stopped drying her hair with a towel and ran to the living room. Merle was fine, he didn't even move. But he she could see something weird trough the window. There was a giant steam going up to the sky, coming from somewhere like if something had exploded. It wasn't near from the building they were, and that was a relief for both them, but it wasn't that far. After all, the ground shook.

"What the hell?" She whispered, walking towards the window with bare foot and wet hair.

There weren't any others rumbles, so she just got back to the bathroom with a question on the back of her head.

~oOo~

"Wow." Lena mumbled, while she prepared the medicine for Merle. She had put her book on the counter together with the food and water she saved for him. It was already dark, and the three candles were lit. With a knife, she cut the pills in half and then smashed with the butt of it. "Humans are stupid." She said to him. Even if he was unconscious, sometimes it would get lonely for Lena, and she talked to him. But Merle was closer to waking up than she expected. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes, was her silhouette. When the image come clear, he saw her hair falling on her shoulders. His eyes followed to her black super hero shirt. She really looked good on black. He looked around, without moving one muscle and realized they were on an apartment. Merle felt his mouth and throat dry; he didn't even remember when was the last time he drank something. "I'm glad they're all dead." He heard her voice echoing through the place.

"And still you're stuck with me." Merle said, with his rough voice. Lena looked at him with eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh my god, you're finally awake!" She exclaimed, dropping the knife she was holding. Merle couldn't speak much because of the thirst.

"Water." He whispered.

"Oh!" Lena jumped and took the water bottle together with the bowl of tuna with the medicine. She brought it to him, and he struggled to sit, raising his right arm to pick up the water bottle. He stopped when he saw the stump. Lena sat beside him and stared at him. He pretended not to care and took the water off her hands with his other hand and drank it.

"How long?" He asked, taking the tuna bowl of her.

"Three days." She answered. "I changed your bandage twice."

He didn't answer. He looked at the mattress on the floor and the book on the armchair.

"We living here now?" He asked.

Lena got up and got back to kitchen. "No, but I wouldn't leave you do die, would I?" She said, grabbing her book and going back to the living room. Merle realized she was wearing pajamas shorts. He struggled to keep his eyes off her legs; they were quite distracting. She sat on the armchair, staring at him.

"What?" He asked, rough. She shrugged.

"Nothing." The girl replied. "Just want to know if you're good to go."

"I'm good." Merle said, putting the bowl on the phone table and wiping his mouth.

"Great, so we leave in the morning." She said, without looking at him and going back to her book. "There is hot water for showering, if you wanna take your last good shower."

Merle stood in silence staring at her. The way her eyes ran the pages side to side, really quick, like if reading that book was the last thing she would do in her life. She actually knew he was observing her, but she didn't care. They stood in silence for a moment until he spoke.

"What's that book about?"

"World war two." She answered, without taking her eyes off the book. Merle scoffed.

"Don't need to know 'bout the past." He said. Lena raised her eyes to look at him.

"Well it's important to know the history of humanity." She said. "Like this one for example. It's pretty much telling me that humans are disgusting. Let's not follow their steps."

Merle laughed. "If you ask me, I think it's stupid."

Lena rolled her eyes and got back to the book. There was an awkward silence, at least from Merle. He didn't know what to do, or to say. He had slept for three days, so he wasn't really sleepy. He saw the book lying on Lena's bed and took it.

"Who's Daryl?" Lena asked suddenly which took Merle by surprise. He wonder how she knew that name; his brother's name. He just looked at her, with narrowed eyes and the girl realized she had said something confusing to him, so she explained. "You called me Daryl on your sleep... And also called me old, pathetic man and threaten me to death." She gave him a little smile like if was the most common thing to say. Merle gazed down to his book and took a deep breath.

"Daryl's my brother." He said. "He's in a camp at the quarry, not far from here."

So he had a family. Lena thought it was just him, she thought he was like her. She blinked a few times.

"That's where we're going tomorrow then." She said."To find your brother."

~oOo~

Merle couldn't sleep. He tried to read the book Lena gave to him, but he couldn't concentrate. Lena was already sleeping on the mattress, with the face on the pillow and stomach facing the mattress. Her deep breathing was the only sound of the apartment. He still couldn't believe she had dragged him to the sofa and done it everything on her own. She seemed so fragile, so little. She reminded him of his brother. He was the completely opposite of her. On the outside, Daryl looked though, strong, but on the inside he knew that Daryl was softer. With Lena was the opposite. She was sweet on the outside, but if you mess with her, she'll show that she is not. Lena adjusted herself in the mattress, lying on her back and Merle could see the super hero logo that was on her shirt. He had forgotten to ask her what was up with the shirt. He wasn't a big fan of comic books and super heroes back then. He was always looking for some fun. And his kind of fun was getting drunk and wake up next to a girl he didn't even know the name in the next day. He chuckled by himself remembering the bar fights and the nights on jail. His brother would get pissed at him, but it was worth it.

Lena's sigh snapped Merle off his thoughts. He looked like a creep watching her sleep, so he just got back to his book. Lena turned her back to him, and he couldn't see her face anymore. Not long after, Lena started to sob. Merle didn't know if she was crying on her sleep or was awake, or having a nightmare. He tried to read the words but she was sobbing louder. Suddenly, she got up and ran to the bathroom. Merle didn't say a word. _I guess she's not that though, huh._

"I just can't." Lena whispered; the back against the cold tiles of the wall. Tears were streaming down her face while she was holding her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She kept whispering in the dark.

The nightmares were getting worse now. She kept dreaming about her family getting killed and not always by a human. Sometimes, she dreamed that her family is being gutted by walkers. But those weren't the worst. The worst kind of nightmare was the ones that Lena was watching it happen with them. Her mother. Her father. Both being gutted to death and she was just standing there, in front of them, doing anything to save them.

She took a deep breath and wiped the tears off her face. Standing up, she got out of the bathroom to see Merle with his eyes on his book.

"Sorry, didn't know you were awake." She said, walking towards her mattress and sitting on it.

"You done?" He said, rough, without even looking at her. "Can't concentrate with you cryin'."

Lena didn't reply immediately. She laid her head on her pillow and turned her back faced to Merle.

"Sorry." She said in a very low voice. She wasn't in the mood for fighting in that moment. She just wanted to sleep for a long time. But she knew it wouldn't be possible. Still, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

~oOo~

The first thing Lena heard when she opened her eyes was Merle swearing at something. He was in the bathroom, trying to turn on the shower, but somehow the hot water wasn't coming. The girl got up and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Don't come in!" Merle exclaimed from the bathroom.

"I'm not coming in!" Lena replied. "Just wanted to know why you were swearing like a sailor in there."

"There is no hot water!"

Lena shrugged, even though he couldn't see her. "Maybe we ran out of it." _Maybe I used all of it. _"Look, it's hot like hell out there anyway."

Merle growled. He rolled his eyes and entered under the cold water. He shivered for a moment but then got used to it. He watched the dirty of his body on the floor of the bathtub. He didn't remember when was the last time he took a shower. However, this time was a little difficult. He was missing a hand. Since the roof, he didn't stop to think about he did. He had to survive; they couldn't spend the night in that roof with those things roaring on the next door. He would do anything to survive. Even cutting his own hand, which he already wasn't sure if Lena would do the same, but he certainly would.

When he got out off the shower and put some clothes on, he opened the door to find Lena shirtless, with her back turned to him. She was struggling to put an orange bra, not being able to hook it in the back; he would offer help, but besides not having one hand, he was good at taking off bras and not putting them on. When the girl finally hooked the piece of cloth, he cleared his throat making her jump and look back. She didn't mind being shirtless in front of him, which actually surprised him.

"Jesus, Merle!" She exclaimed. "You scared me."

She picked up the blue shirt and put it on. Merle got out of the bathroom and sat on the couch, lacing his boots. He didn't want her to think he was creeping at her, but somehow she didn't seem too embarrassed. Lena started to take her things off her backpack and select the things she would travel with. She put the others superheroes shirts, Rick's wife shirt and the two plaids on the backpack. She also put the bottle of water and a can of corn on it, together with the first aid kit and the college jacket. Merle observed her while she let a bunch of tank tops on the floor and closed the zipper.

"There's only one can of corn left." She said, looking at him. "And one to eat now. We need to look for more."

"There's plenty of that on the camp." Merle replied standing up and going the kitchen. "'Sides, I can hunt out there."

"You can hunt?" Lena asked surprised.

"It's the easiest thing in the world." He smiled as he picked up the can of corn and looked for a can opener.

"You have to use the knife." Lena said, watching him opening the drawers. He found a big knife and tried to open, but it wouldn't stay on place and the knife kept slipping from the spot he wanted to make a hole. Lena realized his struggle and walked towards him.

"Here." She said with a soft voice, holding the can on its place so Merle could open it. He did it in silence, angry with his stupid missing hand. Angry with Rick for handcuffing him to that roof. Angry with T-Dog for leaving him there. Angry with himself for cutting his own hand. He was so angry he didn't even realize that Lena was too close to him.

Lena picked up a bowl from the cabinet and placed it on the counter. Merle poured the contents on it and left half of the can for her. He walked towards the sofa and sat on it, eating his corn with his hand. Lena picked up a fork and started eating as well. She could see that Merle was disappointed. He had just lost his hand and there was nothing that could change that.

"So this camp." She tried to distract him. "Where your brother is... There are a lot of people there?"

Merle nodded. "Too much of you ask me." He answered. "Ain't nobody gonna be glad when I get back in there."

"Why wouldn't they?"

Merle chuckled. She seemed so innocent to him; she didn't know them at all. "Well, let's say I'm not their favorite person to survive in an apocalypse. They don't like me."

Lena shrugged. "I don't see why." She said looking at her food. "You're pretty tough. The perfect partner to survive to something like this."

Merle looked at her and she smiled at him. Somehow, she was being friendlier with him than she was with Rick. She didn't know why, but she liked him better than the police officer. She had a tendency to like bad guys, just like in the movies. She always liked the villain. The crack addicted, the drug dealer, the evil man. She remembered watching movies and hoping that the good guy dies and bad one lives. She knew Merle was bad news, but she didn't care. She really hoped that they could be friends.

"Is it far?" She said, brushing away her thoughts.

"Just outside the city." Merle answered. "One day of hiking."

Lena sighed. "Great." She said under her breath.

"You gonna tell me you don't like hiking?" Merle asked her with a grin on his face. "That you're one of those teenagers that don't like bugs and grass?"

She snorted. "No..." She said, trying to hide the fact that what he said was true. "And I'm not a teenager."

Merle chuckled. "Yeah, right."

She decided not to fight and finished her food in silence. Merle was thinking in what to say. He always had the right thing to say and the right time.

"What's up with the blue shirt?" He said, looking at her chest.

"Oh." Lena said, looking at the superhero logo. "Superman."

Merle raised an eyebrow and Lena explained, "The guy with super powers that saves people from evil?"

Merle shook his head, not recognizing the character.

"From the comic books?" Lena tried again. Merle got up, placing the bowl on the phone table and answered,

"Never was a fan of comic books... Just normal books."

Lena nodded hiding her surprise. Perhaps she judged Merle before meeting him. She never though he would like books.

"Better start walking." Merle said. "If we leave now, we get there at the dawn."

The girl walked towards him and gathered her backpack from the floor, leaving the book on the floor.

"You're not taking the book?" He asked, watching her adjusting the backpack.

"No." She replied. "It will weigh too much."

Merle raised his eyebrows, not knowing what to say. The girl was smart, he had to admit it. Seemed like she was prepared to this, like she was built to this world.

"You know the town more than I do." Lena said, snapping Merle out of his thoughts. "You go in the front." She beckoned to the window and he followed her gaze. He walked towards the window and opened it. The man stepped outside, on the emergency ladder. Lena looked at the apartment one more time before following him. She made sure she didn't forget anything and left the building.

~oOo~

"So tell me." Merle said once they reached the woods. They had managed to sneak out the walkers at the city with success. Now they only had to get in the quarry. There were no walkers on the woods as far as Merle could tell. He never had seen one of those things trying to attack anyone. "This superman guy... He has superpowers or somethin'?"

"Uh, yeah." Lena answered walking beside him. "He can fly. And he's super strong."

"That's all?" Merle mocked her, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Well, no." She answered. "He has some others..." She sighed rendering the days that her dad would buy comic books for her, when she was six years old. She smiled at the memory, but quickly looked down. "I'm more like a Marvel person, so... I don't like Superman that much."

"It's a shame that you're wearing his shirt them." Merle answered, without looking at her. Truth was he had no idea what she was talking about. He was too old for listening some dumb teenage shit. He still didn't believe she was twenty years old. Acting like a kid like that only made him believe more she was just a dumb teenager. Well, maybe not dumb, but a just a teenager.

"Yeah, I think it is." She said, quietly. It wasn't like she cared anymore. It wasn't like anyone cared anymore. She took a deep breath and remained silent for the rest of the trip.

They were about half of the way, when Merle spoke.

"Why so quiet, Cherry?"

She looked at him and smiled a little. "I lied." She said. "I don't like hiking."

"I'm always right." Merle grinned and kept walking.

"There are kids in that camp?" Lena asked.

"Yeah, a few. Why?"

She shook her head. "Nothing." She replied. "It just-"

"Shh." Merle interrupted her when he heard a noise coming from behind them. Lena stayed quiet and Merle raised his gun that she had given to him.

"We best keep moving." She whispered and both kept walking.

It was dawn when they reached the huge lake that was at the quarry. Merle thought it was weird that it was all quiet and a little dark. They usually would light a fire to get warm and by that time, the women would still be doing laundry at the lake.

"Wow, this place is beautiful." Lena said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "But are you sure it's here? It's all quiet..."

"Damn right I'm sure." Merle said, walking faster to reach the top of the quarry. "You see that tree over there?" He beckoned to a tree which was marked with an _X _on its body. "Daryl and I marked it. That's where we set our camp." And then, he started running. Lena followed him to the top of the quarry and saw nothing. There was nothing there. Only a red car with a note on it. She walked towards it and read it.

_Morgan, going to the CDC. This area is not safe. Rick. _

"Motherfucker!" Merle shouted. Lena felt her stomach sink. "Goddammit!"

Merle's screams echoed through the quarry, while Lena was trying not to be angry at Rick. She knew he had the best intentions, but it wasn't with her. Or with Merle.

"How could he do that?" She murmured while Merle was still screaming. "How he could forget about us- About me?! I helped him!"

Merle sat on the center of the quarry and sobbed. He didn't care if Lena would hear him, he didn't care if he would look like a pussy, he just wanted to find his brother. And Officer Friendly took Daryl from him. They didn't even try to look for them- For him. Rick just took his brother away from him.

"I fucking helped him! I came with him and he left me!" Lena kept exclaiming. She wasn't as loud as Merle, but she wasn't whispering either. Tears started to form in her eyes and she put a hand on her chest. She felt like she was heartbroken. "I trusted him." She whispered falling on her knees. She began sobbing together with Merle; tears streaming down her face.

Merle stopped crying when he heard a weird noise coming from the woods. Suddenly, a small group of walkers came out of it and started walking on their direction. He got on his feet quickly and called for Lena. The girl didn't even listen to him. Merle started shooting the walkers, but the more he killed them, more of them were coming out of the woods. Lena only noticed the walkers when she heard the shots. She got up and picked up her baseball bat and got ready. She run to Merle's side and began swinging at the walkers that came close to them.

"Where the fuck were you when I called ya?!" Merle yelled at her. She didn't answer. There was too many of them and Merle actually thought they were going to die that night. Until he heard another gunshot. He looked back and saw a man with a shotgun.

"Follow me, both of you!" The man yelled to them. Merle quickly put his gun on his belt and grabbed Lena's wrist, pulling her before she could protest. The man ran to the woods and they followed them. They ran for several minutes, trying to get away from the walkers.

When they stopped to catch a breath, Lena started crying again. Merle was upset too, but he didn't understand why she was crying too much. Maybe it was a girl thing.

"Cherry..." Merle started talking but stopped. He didn't know what to say to her. He didn't know what she was feeling. Hell, he didn't even care.

"Stop." She said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Don't patronize me. I don't need that."

"You folks are gonna stay there waiting for more bitters or you gonna come with me?" The stranger said, with a thick southern accent.

"And you are?" Merle asked, putting himself in front of Lena.

"Name's Paul." He replied. "Paul Bailey."


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**_ Ok, so first of all, thank you so much for all the favorites and follows. This makes me so happy. I wanna give a special shoutout to my best friend **Hadley** for making the amazing cover for this fic (I love you ok).

Also **Marion**: Thank you so much! It's cool to know that you're reading from France hahaha

I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

~oOo~

Merle and Lena followed Paul until they reached a small cabin, made of wood.

"If you keep it quiet, they won't hear us." Paul said. Now that Lena was calm she could really see the man. He was tall, skinny, and a shotgun was on his hands. His face needed a shave, and his hair was messed up. He was wearing a red plaid shirt and faded blue jeans. "That was quite a show you gave there."

"We were expecting some people back there." Lena said.

"They dead?"

"I'm starting to wish they were." She replied.

Merle looked at her, surprise to see the sweet innocent girl saying something like that. She seemed angry and extremely hurt. Merle was angry too, he just didn't wish they were dead. He wished he could kill T-Dog and Rick himself.

"Well, then they were smart to get out of there." Paul said. "That area ain't safe."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock." Merle spat.

"We gotta find somewhere to camp." Lena said looking to the sky. "It's getting dark."

"You folks can be in my cabin." Paula said, getting Merle's attention. "There're only two rooms, but enough to spend the night."

"You got any food?" Merle asked.

"Merle!" Lena scolded him.

"What, I'm hungry-"

"No, that's fine." Paul interrupted. "I got some food. Come on in."

He entered the cabin and both followed him. It was really a small cabin, with two rooms, a small kitchen and a big living room. There was a fireplace on the corner of the living room and a fur carpet on the floor in front of a leather armchair. There was a table behind it, with some plates on it.

"Make yourselves comfortable." Paul said and Walter through the small hallway, entering in one of the rooms.

_Where? _Merle thought. There was no space to sit or rest. Lena, on the contrary, made herself comfortable and say in one the chairs at the table. She placed her backpack on the floor and just sat there staring at nothing, thinking about what she was going to do. She couldn't stay at the woods forever, she didn't even like grass and bugs or anything like that. Merle walked towards her and sat in front of her. She looked at his short right limb and took her backpack. She picked up a white bag from there and placed it on the table. Merle only understood what she was doing when she opened it and took a roller bandage.

"May I?" She asked gently pointing to Merle's stump. He stood his arm to her and she started to unroll the bandage. He stood his arm to her and she gently started to unroll his old bandage. The stump was a single wound, still with water blisters from the burn; but it was healing. "Does it hurt?" She asked, looking at him.

"Fuck no." Merle replied too fast. "I ain't no pussy."

Lena shrugged putting the old bandage and pickings the new one. "Pain isn't a sign that you're weak." She said, starting to wrap his stump. "It actually makes you stronger."

Merle scoffed. "Yeah, that's what they said to you when you got your heart broken by a stupid boy."

Lena didn't answer. She kept wrapping him with the bandage in silence; trying to ignore the fact that Merle still thought she was a teenager. He thought she had boys and parents problems; first world problems. She didn't help too much; puking when seeing blood, complaining about hikes, crying for everything.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Paul came out of one of the rooms, carrying a bunch of clothes.

"You folks can be with the bigger room." He said. "There's a king sized bed, so you can be with your girlfriend."

Merle and Lena looked at each other, and then to Paul. He gave them a small smile and looked at Lena. Merle noticed the eyes of the man on her, but she didn't.

"What's that's smell?" Merle asked, smiling to the man. Lena didn't notice the smell of marijuana until Merle mentioned it. Paul seemed nervous about it, which was weird considering that he was a grown up man. "Don't worry." Merle said to him. "I'm not gonna arrest you or anythin'. Just wondering if you're willing to share."

Paul smirked and walked towards them, with the pot in his hands. He pulled a chair and say with them, offering the drug to Lena, who shook her head.

"Stopped smoking awhile ago." She said. Merle looked at her surprised with the fact she just dropped. Paul handed the pot to Merle and he took it. Lena was tired and just wanted to rest for awhile. "Where's the bathroom?" She asked after taking a deep breath.

"Right there." Paul pointed to a door at the end of the corridor. The girl got up and entered the restroom. Meanwhile, both men stood in silence, taking turns to smoke. Paul looked at Merle's stump and beckoned it. "How'd you lose it?" He asked. Merle raised his eyes to Paul, who looked curious about his lost hand.

"Cut it." Merle replied, rough. Paul nodded in silence.

"Yourself?" He asked after a few seconds.

"With a little help, yeah."

Paul raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Dammit." He said. "You're tough as hell."

Merle scoffed. He liked the way Paul said it. It inflated his ego.

"Lemme ask you something." Paul said, leaning in the table and pointing to the bathroom door. "Is she always like that?"

Merle narrowed his eyes. "Like what?"

"I dunno, like... Kinda bipolar. Emotional."

Merle thought about lying. Truth was he was asking himself the same thing. Not that he cared about her, but he noticed she had an uncontrollable emotional state. He opted for the truth, eventually.

"Don't know." He said. "Only met her a few days ago."

"Oh." Paul leaned back in the chair. "So she's not your girlfriend?"

"Nope."

Paul stood in silence for a couple of minutes. "So that means I could try something with her?"

Merle stared at him. "What you mean?"

"Y'know." Paul replied with a malicious smile. "It's been awhile since I don't get to screw a woman."

Merle passed the weed back to Paul and stared at him. In that moment, Lena opened the bathroom door with red and swollen eyes. She stood at the hallway observing Merle and Paul. When both looked at her, she gave them a light smile and said,

"I'm gonna go get some sleep. You coming?"

It took a second to Merle realize that it was him she was talking to. "Go ahead, I'm coming in a second." He answered her. She nodded.

"Okay, then." She said. "Goodnight, Paul. Thank you for everything." She smiled at him.

Paul bowed his head. "No problem." He said. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

Lena turned on her heels and entered the bedroom. When Merle was sure she couldn't listen to them, he leaned on the table and said, with a low voice,

"Stay away from her."

Paul frowned, confused. Merle stood up and picked up Lena's things from the floor. He walked away from Paul, but stopped in the middle of the way. He looked to the cabin's owner by over the shoulder and continued,

"She's mine."

~oOo~

Merle couldn't sleep that night again. After catching Lena in her underwear, unintentionally again, he had found out that the "king size" bed wasn't that big. It was just a double bed.

"Look. I ain't gonna touch you." He had said to her. She had laughed under her breath, forcing another smile.

"Don't worry." She had said. "If you try not to touch me, you'll fall out the bed."

He didn't know why she treated him so nicely and gently, even when he was rude at her. Nobody had tried to be nice with him before; he was always the hardheaded of the family. He was always the one that no one wants to be around. He didn't get it. How come she wasn't afraid of him? Usually, he would scare the shit out of her. Girls like her didn't last long on his side; just for how he looked like, they would run away from him. Babies use to look at him and cry. Hell, even the people at the quarry camp were scared of him.

But that wasn't in Merle's mind in that night. He couldn't sleep, because he couldn't stop thinking why he had protected Lena when Paul said he wanted her. Lena probably would say no to him, and Merle didn't think that the man would get the message. Still, he didn't understand why he had said "she's mine". She wasn't his, that was obvious. He didn't know. He didn't understand that girl. _That storm girl._ She was messing with him. And he didn't even know her. He didn't even know her and she was already messing with him.

_Stop being a pussy, it's just a girl. _

The voice echoed in his mind and he nodded. It was just a girl. Lena turned around on her sleep, facing Merle's back, breathing heavily. The move made Merle come back to reality. He sighed. He was thinking a lot about her; he forgot she was just beside him.

"Stop being a pussy." He murmured to himself. "It's just a girl."

~oOo~

When Merle woke up, she wasn't there anymore. It took a few seconds to remember what had happened last night. He felt his blood boil, angry with the people at the camp. But then, he remembered Lena. The man got up and saw that the girl wasn't in the room. He heard laugh coming from the living room and started to put his clothes on. He couldn't get his boots laced so he just put them on and walked out of the bedroom. He found Lena sitting on the table, together with Paul, who was looking her from head to toe, but the girl didn't seem notice.

"Really?!" She exclaimed with widened eyes and a big smile on her face.

"Yeah!" Paul said, laughing and nodding. His eyes met Merle's and he stopped smiling. Merle was looking at him with a fire on his face, already thinking in what he was going to say. But then Lena looked at him. She followed Paul's gaze and saw it was just Merle.

"Good morning, Merle." She said with a smile on her lips. He gave her a half smile and walked towards them. "I saved you some beans." She said as he sat on the opposite side of the table, facing her. "We ended up not eating yesterday, so I... Didn't eat much to save for you."

"Thanks, Cherry." He answered and put a spoon full of green beans on his mouth. "I see you're happy today." He said with his mouth full.

"Oh, yeah." Lena said, ignoring the fact that he didn't have any manners on the table. "Paul was just telling me-"

"It's not important." Paul interrupted her, leaning on the table. "What's the plan, then?" He looked at Merle, with a suspicious look on his eyes.

"Come again?" Merle asked, still eating.

"Oh, he asked me if we're going to stay." Lena said.

"Gotta find my brother." Merle replied.

"Sorry 'bout him." Paul said. Merle stopped chewing and looked at him. He swallowed the corn and replied,

"He ain't dead."

"But what are the chances you find him again?"

Merle narrowed his eyes at him. Yesterday, he was just a guy who shared his goodies with Merle; and today, right in the morning, he was being a jerk. Merle wondered if he was acting this way because had warned him to stay away from Lena. There was a moment of awkward silence in the room and Lena cleaned her throat.

"Uh..." She said. "Paul, there is water here? My throat is a little dry."

Paul leaned back on the chair again. "Sorry, darlin'." He said, still looking at Merle. "You have to go to the creek."

They stood in silence for a few seconds.

"Oh." Lena said. "The creek?"

Paul nodded, now looking at her. "It ain't far, honey." He said. "You just go down east for a few minutes and you're there. There's a bucket beside the door, you think you can fill it with water for me?"

"Oh, okay." Lena said, standing up. She didn't expect he would ask her a favor, but politely, she accept.

"I'm coming with you." Merle said, also standing up. "You gonna need someone to watch your back."

Lena smiled while she pulled her hair on a ponytail.

"No offense, but..." Paul said, laughing under his breath. "Can you do that with just one hand?"

Lena looked at him, frowning. "We're gonna be fine." She said, smiling. "Don't worry."

She picked up the bucket from the floor and Merle pulled his gun out. They got out of the cabin and started walking down east, following Paul's directions.

"Cherry." Merle broke the silence between both of them. "I don't trust this guy."

"Why?" Lena looked at him, with furrowed eyebrows. "He's nice."

"Just stay away from him."

Lena didn't answer. She looked to the ground, trying not to laugh; Merle noticed and commented about it,

"What?"

"Nothing." She shrugged, smiling. "It's just nice having someone that cares about me, once in awhile."

Merle scoffed. "I don't." He said. "I just don't want to have to clean any blood stains after he kills you."

Lena laughed under her breath. "Yeah, right." She said. Somehow, what Merle said didn't affect her at all. "You keep telling yourself that."

There was another silence before Lena speaking up;

"I just want you to know… That I'm with you. If you want to stay, we'll stay. If you want to look for your brother, we'll leave."

He looked at her; her eyes focused on their path. Merle tripped in something and went to the ground.

"Oh, Jesus!" Lena exclaimed and knelt down, putting a hand on his shoulder. He quickly stood up, like nothing had happened. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Tripped over somethin'." He said, a little embarrassed. Damn it, he'd never get embarrassed with nothing. Lena looked down to see where he had tripped, but didn't find anything. Merle started to walk again and she looked at his boots.

"Merle, stop." She said, making him stop. The girl knelt down in front of him and started lacing his boots. "Your boots were untied." She stood up and smiled lightly.

"Thanks." Merle murmured, in a low voice. Lena noticed he was a little embarrassed, but didn't dare to say a thing.

"Damn mosquitoes." Lena muttered, struggling with the bugs that kept insisting in bite her skin. Merle just looked at her. "What?" She said looking at him.

"Teenager." He said, looking away.

"I'm not!" She laughed. "Would you stop, please?"

Lena was starting to feel what she felt back at the roof. She felt like she was just a horny teenager, waiting for the first opportunity to open her legs to him. It wasn't her; she hadn't felt this attracted to a man in years. She was well aware that Merle was bad news, she knew it. But if she was going to survive with him, she had to push that feeling away. If they find Daryl, if they find Rick and the others; then it would be a different story.

"There it is." Merle said, making Lena come back to reality. There was really a creek, just a few meters ahead them. Lena fastened her walk and knelt down to the cold water. She cupped some on her hands and wet her face. The cold water made her sigh; the hot weather was killing her. Five years in the south of the country and she still hadn't got used to the weather. Merle observed her, while she drank the liquid and filled Paul's bucket. When she was done, she stood up looking at him.

"Hold this." Merle said, handing the gun to her. He knelt down and did the same thing Lena did on the creek; drank it, wet his face and chest. Merle was too distracted to hear the snapping sounds Lena heard. Staying alert, she looked around searching for any sound of walkers or people around them. The sounds were getting closer and louder now; Merle noticed that the birds stopped tweeting and looked at Lena. She was breathing silently, paying attention to the noises.

Slowly, a walker came out of the woods, with part of the jaw missing and a broken foot. When it spotted the human flesh, it started to walk faster, dragging his bad leg in the dirt. Lena raised her gun and aimed at its head.

But something wasn't right

The noises Lena had heard were snapping of small branches on the floor. It wasn't a walker dragging his leg around. The girl watched while the undead walked towards them; her gun raised, but she didn't shoot. At this point, Merle was already up in his feet.

"What you're waiting for?!" He snapped to her. She didn't answer; her eyes were in the woods behind the walker. Annoyed with the situation, Merle took the gun of her hand and aimed to the walker.

"Merle, don't!" Lena screamed, grabbing his arm, but it was too late. He had shot the walker right in the middle of its eyes, the gunshot echoing in the woods. There was a moment of silence before him speaking up.

"You wanna fucking die?!" He yelled at her. She wasn't looking for him; still grabbing his arm with her right hand and the bucket of water on the left one.

Then, they heard it.

The moans of more walkers coming towards them. They began to appear through the trees. It was six or five of them at the beginning; Merle aimed his gun on them, with the intention of kill them all, but Lena noticed that there was more behind them. Not two or three, but a dozen of them. Maybe more. She dropped the bucket and grabbed Merle's arm, pulling him to run.

"The hell are you doing?!" He protested, struggling to move away from her.

"There is fucking more!" Lena snapped, still pulling him. He didn't believe in her at first. He flicked away his arm from her and stopped moving. Then he saw the herd and started running after her. The walkers behind them weren't fast, but they already had seen the humans.

When they reached the cabin, Paul was in the porch; he had heard the gunshot and was ready to kill whatever it comes out the woods.

"Get in!" Lena shouted to him. She ran to the porch, reaching and pulling him inside. Merle was right behind her. "Get in and turn the lights off!" She exclaimed, entering the cabin.

"Wanna tell me what the hell is going on?!" Paul asked entering the house as well. Merle also entered and shut the door.

"The table!" He exclaimed, leaning on the door. Lena began to drag the table to barricade the door, ignoring Paul's protests.

"It's a herd, you fucking moron!" Merle yelled at him. "Now do something useful and turn the damn lights off!"

Paul felt his blood boil. How did he dare come into his house and yell at him like that? He felt the rage consume him, but acted like nothing had happened. He obeyed and turned the lights down. They could hear it now. The moans and roars outside. Merle knelt down under one of the windows and pulled Lena with him. Paul was a few meters away from them, but he also knelt down. Lena was breathing heavily, so Merle put his hand on her mouth to stop her to make noise. She didn't protest.

Several minutes passed, and the walkers didn't seem to notice they were in the house. The herd passed by, and when it was over, the lights were turned on again. Merle and Paul got up and placed the table where it belonged before. Lena was still sitting on the floor, absorbing what was just happened. She never got any closer to that number of those things before; her hands were shaking hard and she was still struggling to breathe.

"What 'bout the water?" Paul asked when everyone was calm.

"We left the bucket." Merle said, walking towards Lena.

"What?"

Merle stopped walking and turned around. "You fucking deaf?!" He exclaimed. "We left the fucking bucket."

"Well, then go get it!"

Lena put her hands on her ears. The yelling was getting old, and she was starting to get a headache.

"You go get it!" Merle yelled. "It's yours!"

"You left there!"

"Enough!" Lena shouted, standing up. "Both of you, just... Stop!" She closed her hands in fists. "You're fighting over a bucket! A freaking bucket, for Christ sake! Someone go get the thing already, you guys are giving me a headache!" She walked out to the bathroom.

"Fine!" Merle yelled. "I'll go get your stupid fucking bucket." He took the gun again and left the cabin. He didn't care if Lena was alone with him, he just wanted to get out of that man's face or else he was going to kill him. He found the bucket near by the creek and started to get back. He didn't fill the bucket on purpose, giving Paul one more reason to yell at him. And when he does it, oh, he would regret it so much.

But then he heard the scream. Lena's scream. Dropping the bucket, he began running towards the cabin.

"He won't hear you." Paul said to Lena. He was holding her down on the ground, pinning her hands on the floor. She was struggling and debating herself, tears coming out of her eyes. Paul was using his weight against her, making impossible for her to escape.

"Please, don't!" She cried. Paul took a pocket knife and pressed in her throat.

"Quiet now." He said with a rough voice. Lena felt the cold metal touching her skin and stopped fighting. He began to unbutton her jeans. "If you don't move it won't hurt much." She started to cry again.

_Not again, please._

Paul was taking off her pants when Merle entered the cabin. He saw the man on top of Lena and ran towards them. With his own hand, he grabbed Paul's collar and pulled him out of Lena. Merle shoved Paul on the floor, and placed himself on top of him, holding his arms with his knees. Closing his hand on a fist, he started to beat him up. Paul tried to stab Merle with his pocket knife, but the older Dixon grabbed his hands and took the knife himself. Lena watched Merle stab Paul on the chest, with tears in her eyes.

_He deserves it. _

Merle breathed when he was done. He left out a sigh and stood up; blood stains on his shirt, but he didn't mind. He looked at Lena, who was on the corner of the living room; her pants still halfway down, tears stains still on her cheeks. He didn't want to bring the "I told you so" attitude, but she needed to listen. She needed to know that he was right; that he was _always_ right. Still breathing heavily, he said the four words Lena didn't want to hear.

"I told you so."

~oOo~

"How is that fucking possible?!" Lena exclaimed, looking at the dead walker that once was Paul. He had turned and attacked Merle while he was talking to Lena. Luckily, he still had the pocket knife with him. They didn't know how it was possible; Paul wasn't bitten, he wasn't even near those walkers. But they had bigger things to deal with in that moment.

"I dunno." Merle breathed.

"Are you okay?!" She exclaimed.

"'M fine." He murmured. "You?"

Lena looked at him, trying to hide the surprise on her face; Merle never asked if she was fine before. She just shook her head and sat on the armchair. Merle didn't know about her past, but still, he saved her. He stopped Paul from raping and killing her. He killed him. And she agreed with his actions, no matter what, because he saved her life.

"Thank you." She said, with a low voice.

"It's nothing." He said, sitting in one of the chairs.

There was a moment of silence before Lena start talking.

"When I was fifteen, I lived with my parents in Washington. One night, this guy invaded our house and made us hostage. I don't know why... Maybe he had something personal with my father. The point is... He said he was going kill us." She made a brief pause. Merle was paying attention in every word she spoke. "He got my mother first. Strangled her... In front of us. Then he took out a knife and stabbed my father on his stomach. At this point, I was desperate. I was crying, thinking that I'm going to be the next one to die." Lena took a deep breath. "But he didn't. He raped me." She looked at Merle's eyes. He was surprise. "After he was done, he wrapped his hands around my neck and I thought I was going to die just like my mother. But I didn't. He just looked at me, looked right on my eyes. He didn't say anything, but I knew what he was thinking. That I deserved. That I deserved to suffer my entire life… Because of that moment. Before he leaves, he stabbed my father once more on the chest. He was still alive. He watched everything that man did to me... When Paul was on top of me... I all could see, was my father looking at me."

Her eyes filled with tears and she started crying again. She felt embarrassed. She felt guilty. She should've believed in Merle.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I didn't believe you. If hadn't yelled with him like that- it's all my fault!"

"Cherry." He said, catching her attention. "It ain't your fault. Why don't you rest for awhile, while I sort things out here?"

Lena nodded and stood up. Looking at Merle one last time, she walked towards the bedroom. Merle sighed and thought about everything Lena said. That girl went through a lot, he couldn't lie. He reckoned he was wrong. The girl was tough. Shaking his head, he stood up and looked at Paul. Lena hadn't said anything about him killing the man, but Merle had thought about. He never had killed someone before, and he felt weird about it. Paul almost raped Lena, and Merle felt good in killing him. He thought about what she had said to him last night. _Pain makes you stronger. _Sure like hell didn't do nothing for her.

He took a deep breath and started to drag Paul's body outside. He wasn't sure where to left it, so he just dragged to the creek. He took a little bit of water and got back to the cabin. He decided to scavenge for food on the kitchen and found out that he had a collection of canned meat, soup, and a lot of other types of canned food.

"Motherfucker." He murmured to himself as he picked up all of them and put it on the counter. He didn't care if Lena was going to complain about the weight on her backpack, they needed to survive. Merle could hunt, but the woods full of walkers and with his AK gone, he couldn't do much. He decided to search for more supplies on Paul's room.

His bedroom was a mess. Full of clothes on the floor, messed up bed, and a lot of useless stuff on the counter. He picked up a black shirt from the floor and dressed over his white tank top.

"He ain't gonna need it anyway."

He started to gather a few shirts he could use; plaid shirts, long sleeved shirts and a few more.

"Merle?!" He heard Lena's voice coming from the living room. He opened the door of the bedroom to look for her. She was in the living room, with her backpack on her back and her baseball bat on her hands.

"Cherry?" Merle called, and she turned around to see him. She sighed in relieved.

"I thought you had left me." She said.

"Nah, I wouldn't do that." He replied and pointed to the bat on her hands. "What's wrong?"

"I don't wanna be here anymore." She said to him. "We could go now."

"Now we're talking." Merle walked towards the kitchen and beckoned her to come closer. He opened her backpack and put all the cans on it. He also put the shirts he had stolen from Paul. He was expecting her to complain about it, but she didn't. Instead, she made a silly comment about his clothes.

"You look good on black."


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_ Hey! Sorry about the long wait for the update, I wasn't going to post this week but then I found out that next week I'm not gonna be on town so I won't be able to update in the future. So I decided to update this week and then when I'm back, two weeks from now. Enjoy!

~oOo~

They were out of there before noon. They had stopped on the creek to gather water and Merle made sure Lena didn't see Paul's body lying on the edge of it. They decided to try the highway, to see if some car was working. Merle hadn't any hope to find his brother; after all, he couldn't track him if the was behind a wheel. He didn't let Lena know, but he didn't know what to do.

"I want you to teach me." Lena interrupted his thoughts.

"Teach you what?"

"How to fight people."

Merle looked at her for a moment. She just gave him a little smile. "I forgot what people could do." She said, looking and their path. "Running away from the dead, I... Kinda forgot my pepper spray at home."

He laughed under his breath and shoved his hand on his pocket. He picked up Paul's pocket knife and gave it to her. She stopped walking and looked at him.

"Take it." He said. "It will be useful."

Hesitant, Lena took the knife from his hand.

"Press this button to release the blade." He showed her where to press it. She pressed and the blade came out, making her jump. Merle laughed under his breath and Lena smiled. "You have long nails." He said looking at her hands. "You can use them too. Go for the eyes first, and then the throat."

She nodded and they began to walk again.

"Don't let however wants to kill you intimidate you." He kept talking. "Even if you're scared, even if you wanna run, don't let them know."

"That's how you do it?" She asked, innocently. He snorted and laughed at her.

"I ain't no amateur." He replied. "Stopped acting like that a long time ago."

She nodded again. "So what's the plan?"

"There ain't no plan." He replied. "You just hope he doesn't have a gun and attack him."

"No." She laughed. "Right now. What's the plan?"

"We gonna have to use a car."

"So, we're going to the highway." She said it like an affirmation, not a question.

"Yep." Merle said. "If we pick up the pace, we could get there by dawn."

Lena was in silence again. She held her baseball bat tight in her hands, ready to attack anything or anyone that comes attack them. Merle was in silence too. He didn't even know what to do; he always knew what to do. He had no idea where Daryl or Rick could be. _Oh, yeah. Rick. _Only the thought of him made Merle's chest fill in with anger. They didn't come back for them. Sure, he had made Daryl's head, had somehow convinced him that his big brother wasn't important anymore. Oh, if he met Rick he wouldn't be able to control himself anymore. He tried to brush it off this thought, but he couldn't. Only the thought of killing Rick made him tight his hand on his gun.

_Killing Rick. Where's your humanity?_

They walked for a long time, making small talk. Things about their past, things about their hometown. Merle honestly didn't care about Lena's past or her hometown, but he couldn't stand the silence. It was like she wasn't even there.

They reached the highway in a traffic jam. Merle was right; by the dawn they were there. There were a lot of empty cars; it looked like people had run out in a hurry.

"How do we know if they still work?" Lena asked.

"Well, you try." Merle replied, walking towards a black car. "Why won't you go look for a flashlight or something, while I see if this one is working?"

"You sure?" Lena asked, putting her backpack on the floor.

"Yeah."

Lena began to walk around the cars, with her baseball bat in hands. The sun was setting, and it was getting darker; it would be difficult to see, so she tried to look for a flashlight quickly, before Merle started to complain about the lack of light. She found out that most of the cars were filled with untouched supplies. She felt a pang of guilt as she rummaged through a random car. She opened the glove compartment, but only found some CDs; looked in the back seats and the driver's seat, but didn't find anything. Moving on to the next car, she did the same. She didn't found anything flashlight in any of the cars she scavenged.

"C'mon." She murmured opening a red car's door. "One of these freaks had to have a flashlight somewhere."

When she opened the glove compartment, she saw the black stick and smiled. Taking the flashlight, she pressed the button to see if it was working.

"Yes!" She exclaimed when the light hit her eyes. She ran to Merle, who was still on the black car, trying to make it start with the irons. "I found one!" She exclaimed, making Merle jump out in scare. He looked at her.

"Sweet baby Jesus, Cherry!" He exclaimed.

"Sorry." She laughed, handing him the flashlight. He took it and placed on his mouth, illuminating the place where he had to pull out the wires. "What are you doing?" Lena asked.

"I have a flashlight in my mouth." He muffled. "Can't talk right now."

Lena didn't answer; but Merle actually kept talking.

"See, when you're breaking in places... It's all about the tumblers. But when you wanna start a car, you have to choose the right wires." He was struggling with the wires, trying to pick the right one, but it was hard with a useless limb. "Cherry, help me with something."

Lena still didn't answer. Merle didn't know the reason of her silence; he even thought she was mad at him or something. "Lena." He said, standing up and looking at her. Her eyes were terrified, looking at him, asking for help. Merle almost asked what was wrong with her; and then he saw it. A gun was on her head. A hand was on her neck, stopping her from moving. Merle's eyes followed the hand and he saw a tall man, with a piercing on his brow, tattoos on his neck and an angry look on the eyes.

Merle advanced on the man; unlike Lena, he wasn't scared of the gun. But a second guy stopped him, putting a gun on his head. That one had long hair, and a mustache.

"Don't even think about it." He said to Merle.

"Drop the baseball bat." The other man said to Lena. She did as he said, dropping the weapon, making a loud noise on the concert floor.

The long haired man approached Lena, but kept pointing his gun to Merle. With his index finger, he gently stroked her cheek. Lena tried to do what Merle told her; tried to act like they didn't scare her, even though she was scared to death.

"Pretty girl we have here." He said. She looked at Merle and he eyed her legs, trying to say something. "You want her first?"

The other man laughed. "Yeah, she must be good."

Lena's heart raced. She tried to keep her breath still, but it was hard, with the adrenaline rushing in her body.

"Don't fucking touch her." Merle said, with a raspy voice.

"Oh!" He exclaimed looking at Merle. "She yours?"

Merle didn't answer.

"That makes it even better!" The man with tattoos exclaimed, taking a fist full of Lena's hair, making her cry a little. The long haired man now was pointing the gun to Merle's stomach.

"If you move." He warned. "You die."

The tattooed guy started dragging Lena away from him. She grabbed the hands of her aggressor, trying to release herself from them, but not succeed. She then remembered Merle's comment about her nails.

_Go for the eyes first. _

The man shoved her against a car, and she knew what was going to happen if she didn't act. Without thinking much, she attacked the eyes of the man with her nails, making him cry out loud and bend over away from her. Quickly, she reached the pocket knife on her jeans pocket and pressed the button to release the blade. Obviously, the man was faster than her and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't you know?" He said, pressing her wrist hard, making her hand open and release the knife. "You don't bring a knife to gun fight."

Meanwhile, Merle was still with the other guy, listening Lena fight with her aggressor. The long haired man looked at Merle's short limb, just like Paul looked. Merle was thinking in a way of taking his gun, which was in the seat of the car.

"Y'know." The man said to him. "Your girl back there. She ain't gonna make it. In this world, she would be lucky to find someone to fuck. We're doing her a favor."

Merle laughed under his breath. "By fucking the brains out of her?" He said.

"Exactly."

Lena screamed. Merle breath started to get heavier.

"Bitch!" The tattooed man exclaimed.

"Need help there, John?!" The long haired man asked.

"I'm fine!" The other one replied. "She won't stop fighting!"

"Oh!" He looked to them, letting his guard down. "She's a fighter-"

Merle interrupted him, by slapping the man's hand, making him shoot on the floor and drop the weapon. With a kick in the stomach, he shoved the man down on the floor and turned around to pick his gun.

Lena and John heard the gunshot. John stopped fighting with her and looked to side. Lena took advantage the he wasn't looking and kicked him hard in the middle off his legs. He dropped his weapon and she kicked it far away. She kicked him once more on the guts; she didn't know how she did it. She saw her knife on the ground and took it, with trembling hands. She placed herself on top of her aggressor and pressed the knife on his throat. He looked at her, without moving a muscle, with a creepy smile on his face, blood on his eyebrow, from her attempt to attack him.

"So, what are you waiting for?" He said with a low voice. She knew what she had to do. If she didn't, he would kill her. It was him or her. They heard another gunshot. The man tried to grab the knife from her hand but she was faster and sliced his throat, making him gasp and choke on his own blood; which spurted on her face. Tears formed on her eyes, but it weren't shed. She heard a click behind her, and quickly got up to face whatever was there.

She saw three men; a short one, wearing glasses and looking scared, a second one who was holding a shotgun and seemed Latino, and a third one, tall, dark haired with green eyes. She could see, through the moonlight, a truck behind them.

"We're not gonna hurt you." The dark haired man said, putting his hands on the air. "We're not like them."

Lena just stared at them, breathing heavily.

"We've got a camp." The man kept saying. "There's a few people, women, kids, families."

"An infirmary." The man with glasses said. "We can't treat that cut on your face."

_Cut?_

Lena touched the side of her face and felt a sharp pain. When she looked on her hands, there was blood on it. Merle came running towards them, pointing his gun to them.

"Stay away from her." He warned them.

"Woah!" The Latino exclaimed. "We're not gonna hurt her."

"Did you-" Lena asked, but Merle interrupted her.

"Yes." He looked at her and saw a cut that went from her ear to the corner of her mouth on the right cheek. He, then, looked at her aggressor's body lying on the ground.

"Cherry." Merle lowered his gun.

"I had to." She said, looking at the ground. "He was going to rape me." She shook her head. "He did this with my own knife." She went silent. She was almost raped twice in less than twenty four hours. Tears streamed down her face, making her wound burn. She then looked at the men. They were silent for a moment and the darks haired man open his mouth to say something, but were interrupted by the growls of a walker.

Lena and Merle looked back to look for the monster, but they didn't see anything. The grunts were from the man that Lena had killed.

Lena thought of Paul. He had turned after Merle had killed him. Seeing her second aggressor walking towards them, made her yell. For a moment she thought he was alive, but then, she saw his eyes. His lifeless eyes staring at them. The grunts. His mouth open like he was starving. He was a walker. But how was that possible? Was he bitten, like Paul was? Her thoughts were interrupted by a low gunshot and the man dropped to the ground. There was a silence in the air; Merle and Lena thinking of Paul and the moment he tried to attack them. Lena looked at them and asked, her voice nothing more than a whisper,

"How?"

"As far as we know." The man with glasses said. "We all have it."

"We have it what?!" She exclaimed.

"We're all infected." The Latino man said. "Even if we're not bitten. The only thing that really kills us is a shot in the head."

Lena frowned and looked at the dead walker trying to believe the man's words. Merle's was quiet too. There was a silence before the dark haired man speaks.

"We have a place. A safe place, there is no man like that back there."

Merle just stared at the three men, waiting for an explanation. The man kept talking.

"We found an empty village a few weeks ago and it turned out it was save."

Merle looked at Lena, waiting for some kind of objection. Not that he needed her approve to make his own decisions. The next thing he knew, they were at the truck, with the three men, going to the unknown town.

~oOo~

"It's gonna need stitches." Doctor Stevens said to Lena, examining her wound through his thick glasses. She didn't say a word since they arrived at the town called Woodbury. "I'm gonna give you morphine to ease the pain, but it will leave a scar."

The Doctor picked up the syringe and filled in with the medicine. Lena took a deep breath, preparing herself to what was going to happen.

It couldn't be worse than everything she went through in that day.

He applied the morphine on her and started to stitch her face, cleaning the blood that was dripping from the wound. When it was done, he put the bloody gauzes on a metal bowl beside the bed she was sitting. She kept looking at the ground in silence; still covered in John's blood. Then, the door opened and the man with green eyes and dark hair entered the room; Merle was right behind him, with Lena's backpack and baseball bat.

"There she is." Merle said, with a smile on his face. Lena tried to smile, but the wound would hurt if she tried. "How you feeling?"

She took a deep breath. "Better." She replied.

"I don't think we've been introduced." The man said. "They call me The Governor."

"Lena." She shook his hand, politely.

"Well, Lena, you're safe here." He said, smiling. "Won't need that anymore." He pointed to the baseball bat. Lena placed it on the bed. "There is nothing to be afraid of."

Lena nodded and jumped out the bed, standing up. She picked up the backpack from Merle, and The Governor lead the way to the town. It was empty and Lena wondered if it was already late or there wasn't anyone here at all.

"We have thirty people here. Including my boys. Milton and Martinez were the ones you saw there on the highway. The others are in the barriers of the town." He pointed to the entering of the town and to the opposite side of the town.

"So, there are thirty people in this whole town that you found just a few weeks ago?" Merle asked.

"Yeah." He replied. "In the firsts days people thought it was a refugee center. They thought we were military, but as you can see, we're not. This place grew up really fast." He led them to a small building in one of the corners of the town. _Gabrielle Mars _was the name of it. Merle never understood why rich people had to name building like they were people. The principal door was removed in case of someone needs to run away from something. "This is where you'll stay." He pointed to the three floor building. "You get to choose with floor and apartment to stay, so consider yourselves the lucky ones." He laughed. "I've got some things to work on it, so I'll see you both tomorrow. Goodnight." He walked away, towards his own apartment.

Lena sighed and walked towards the entrance of the building; Merle followed her in silence. They went up the stairs to find out that there was only one apartment each floor.

"You wanna stay here or-" Merle started asking her, but she didn't let him finish.

"It's okay." She faked a smile. "I'll get the one in the second floor." She, then, sighed. "Goodnight." She turned around and went upstairs again. Merle opened the apartment door and entered his new home. His apartment was bigger than every house he had ever lived on. The floor was wooded, and there were two sofas on the living room. The kitchen was ridiculously big. Even bigger than the kitchen on the apartment he woke up with Lena. He walked through the place and find out that there were two rooms and two bathrooms. He smiled and sat on one of the couches.

Lena entered in her new home and saw a balcony that separated the living room from the kitchen. There was a table on the center of the living room and to her right, there was a double bed. On her left, there was a sofa with a TV on front of it. There was another two rooms, but she didn't walk through them. She placed her backpack on the table and sat on the bed. Unlacing her shoes, she tried not to cry, while she thought about the day she had. She took off the plaid shirt she was wearing and the pants. She felt tears streaming down her face and burning her wound again. She pulled the covers and lay on the pillow. She didn't even know what to think of that town. She didn't want to think. She just wanted to cry herself to sleep and never wake up anymore.

~oOo~

Merle woke up with a knock on the door. He slowly opened his eyes and remembered where he was. The night before, he had slept on the king sized bed in the bigger room. He heard the knocking once more, and looked at the clock. He growled. It was 8am; he never was the type of guy who wakes early in the morning. He got up and stumbled towards the door, thinking it was Lena.

"It's too early, Cherry-" he said, opening the door to see it wasn't Lena. "Oh. Governor."

"Sorry about the time." The Governor smiled. "We like to seize the day." He picked up one of the boxes that were on his feet. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." Merle walked away, giving The Governor space to walk in.

"Do you like your place?" He said, placing the box beside the couch.

"It's pretty great." Merle replied.

"I brought you some supplies to put on the fridge. It's mostly canned food for now, but it will get better."

Merle smiled lightly and The Governor started to walk away. "Can you get these to Lena?" He asked. "And tell her I wanna talk to her when she's up? With both if you, actually."

Merle nodded. When the other man left, he decided to look in the box to see what he had brought. And he was right. There was mostly canned food, but also had some cookies and chips bags. He picked up the box that was on his door, struggling a bit for being one handed and went upstairs. He knocked on Lena's door, but she didn't answer. He placed the box on the floor and knocked on the door again. He heard steps coming from inside and the door opened. He saw Lena wet, from head to toe, wearing nothing but a white towel wrapped on her body. Merle couldn't lie and say he didn't like it, but he was surprise by her lack of embarrassment; she acted like it was a normal thing being naked in front of a man.

"Oh, hey, Merle." She said, smiling lightly. "Come in, I was about to take a shower."

Merle started dragging the box to inside the apartment. "You gonna say you were already wet before getting in the shower?"

Lena laughed. "You know what I mean!" She exclaimed, walking towards the bathroom where the shower was still on. Merle could see that she left the door ajar, to talk to him while she took a shower. He thought about going there and peeling her, but her voice made him brush that thought away.

"What's in that box there?!" She asked, getting into the shower.

"Governor's present." He replied, sitting on the couch. "He wants to talk to us later!"

Lena didn't answer. Merle thought about her, and how she didn't react to him seeing her half naked. He thought about what happened on the apartment back in Atlanta, when he caught her trying to hook her bra.

_Thinking that way, no shit she was almost raped twice at the same day._

But that was the thing. She was comfortable with him only. When they met Paul, she wasn't wearing anything provocative (which didn't justify any man's action over her), or she didn't even flirt with him. The same with the both pricks on the highway. With Merle, it was different. She was the one was flirted with him in the roof. She was the one who didn't feel embarrassed or disgusted by the fact he had harassed her. It was always different with him. The question was _why?_ Was she falling in love with him? Was she trying to get close to him, make him fall for her and live together on their own bubble of happiness? _Fuck no. _He wouldn't fall for that. Merle Dixon doesn't fall in love for anyone. The only person he loves is Daryl. No one else.

"Any clue about what?" Lena said, interrupting his thoughts. He looked at her to see the girl already dressed, with a black shirt and blue jeans. Drops of water coming from her hair were dripping on the floor, just beside her bare foot. How long he was on her couch, thinking about her?

"What?" Merle asked, a little confused.

"The Governor." Lena said. "Do you know about what he wants to talk?"

Merle shook his head, shrugging. "Probably some dumb rules 'bout the town."

She nodded, walking towards the box on the floor. Merle stood up; he didn't even know why he was still there, lost in his thoughts, making false accusations about the girl. He walked towards the door with the intention of leaving.

"Wait." She said, making him stop and look at her. "Wanna stay for a while? Have breakfast?"

For a moment he just stood there, looking to those brown eyes, watching him, trying to manipulate them. "Nah, I'm good." He answered and turned around to leave the apartment, but something came up in his mind. "Listen, Cherry, 'bout yesterday-"

"I'm okay." Lena interrupted him. She didn't want to have that conversation. She knew what he was going to say; that it wasn't her fault, that she couldn't have done anything to stop them, that she didn't have to feel embarrassed, it could happen to any girl. The thing was it wasn't only about rape. She had killed a man in the night before. She didn't even care. She murdered him, thinking that it was the only option. She didn't feel right, she didn't feel okay. So she just forced herself to smile to him and lied to him. "I'm okay." She repeated.

Merle stared at her for a moment. He looked at her bandaged wound on her cheek and then to her eyes; then turned his back to her. He didn't see that her eyes started to tear up when he left the apartment.

~oOo~

"I want you both to work for me." The Governor said to Merle and Lena. They were both on his office, on his apartment. The Governor was sitting on a leather arm chair behind a wooden table and the other two were sitting on two chairs facing him.

"Work?" Lena asked confused.

"Yeah." The Governor smiled, leaning back on the armchair. "You can go on supplies run with us, or keep watch on the entrance of the town, and in return, I feed you and give you both the best supplies and clothes."

There was a moment of silence before The Governor keep talking, looking at Lena.

"I saw you fight with that man last night." He said. "If you let us train you, you could be experienced at wrestle. In return, you work for me."

"You saw it?" Lena asked, frowning. The man nodded. "So you could've stopped him and you just stood there watching him trying to rape me?!"

"Well, he didn't." The Governor said. "And you killed him. I can help you; I can teach you how to knock out a man even before he put his hands on you. We have this man, Caesar, you saw him last night, Martinez. He's an experienced man and he could teach you everything."

Lena looked at Merle who shrugged a little, saying that it was her call.

"I... I'm in." She said, shrugging a little. "I mean it's not like I have anywhere else to stay."

The Governor smiled, and then looked at Merle. Lena looked at him as well, waiting for an answer; waiting for him to say yes. He shrugged and looked away.

"I wish I could, but, uh..." He lifted his stump, showing that he was incapable of doing anything without help. Being honest, Merle was just using that as an excuse to not work for him. He didn't trust that man yet. Just on their second day in that town and he was already asking for help, and making promises to Lena.

"Actually, I've got a present for you." The Governor smiled, and stood up, looking at Lena. "For both of you."

The Governor led them to the infirmary again. Doctor Stevens was behind one of the counters on the reception when they entered the infirmary. He looked at Lena behind the glasses and smiled.

"How's that cut going?" He asked her, standing up and walking towards her, making her uncomfortable.

"Uh..." She stammered. "Better, I guess..."

Merle fought with the will of laughing at her.

"Follow me." The Governor ignored Stevens and kept walking through the hallway.

Milton, who was waiting for them, joined the walk, trying to inform The Governor about the lack of fuel on the generators.

"Sir." A woman with braided long hair called The Governor from a room. A mask was on her neck and her coat was a little yellow stained. The group stopped walking and looked at her.

"Yes, Alice?" The Governor answered.

"She wants to see you." Alice replied. The Governor looked at the group and then to Alice.

"Milton, get them to the warehouse and show them what we prepared to them last night." He said, walking towards the woman. "I will be there in a minute."

Milton nodded and started to walk again. Before leaving, Lena tried to peek into the room, but couldn't see a thing. Milton led them to a long corridor with no rooms or doors.

"You have a warehouse inside an infirmary?" Merle asked, looking at the long hallway.

"No, the infirmary it's just a shortcut." Milton replied. "There is another way, but it is on the end of the town, and it would took more time to-"

"It was just a simple question, sunshine." Merle interrupted him. "You don't need to do a whole speech."

Milton walked on silence. When they reached the end of the hallway, the man picked up a bunch of keys from his pocket and used one to open the only door around. On the other side of the door there was an alley, on the back of the infirmary. Milton led them some more, turning to the right. There was really a warehouse. Milton used another key to open the door and they finally entered the place. They walked more, until they stopped at the armory. There weren't a lot of guns, but it was more than Lena had seen in her entire life. Milton walked towards one of the shelves and grabbed the updated baseball bat, which belonged to Lena.

"Here." He said giving to her. She took it, surprised with the change they had made on it. They wrapped a barbed wire on it, to make it easier to kill walkers. But she was even more surprised when she saw what Milton was showing to Merle.

"It's a metal prosthesis we found before." He explained. "Well, with a few changes. There is no hand, but... There is a place to put a bayonet on it."

Merle widened his eyes, surprised with the gift The Governor was giving to them. Milton helped Merle to put on the new part of his body. He placed the bayonet where it was suppose to be and Merle smiled.

"You did this overnight?" Lena asked.

"No." The Governor answered, from the door of the armory. He had arrived in time to see Merle's smile; he stood there with hands on his pocket and a half smile on his face. "The baseball bat... Yes. But the prosthesis... We found it even before we found this place. Glad we took it now. It wasn't useless." He walked towards Merle and placed a hand on his shoulder. "So what do you say?"

Merle nodded, still looking to his gift. "I'm starting to like this place, already."


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N:**_ Hey everybody! I thought I should post a new chapter before the New Year, so here it is! I'll also take a "break" from posting the chapters now; it won't be long, just so I can write a few more chapters before posting more. But yeah, Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you have a great one! I hope you like this chapter (:

~oOo~

"Hey, Penny." Philip said as he sat down on her hospital bed. The girl smiled lightly, weak and tired. Her forehead was wet with sweat and her eye lids were heavy, trying to stay open to see her father.

"Daddy." She whispered.

"How are you today, darling?" He smiled through the mask on his face.

"Fine." She said and then coughed a few times, and a little bit of blood came out her mouth. Philip's eyes filled in with tears and he tried to hide it. Penny raised her bloody hand and touched his face. "Don't cry, daddy." She said.

"I'm not crying, baby girl." He smiled, looking at her blue eyes. "Your birthday is coming, you know that?" She smiled. "Just think about what you want it for your 7th year, okay?" She nodded, closing her eyes and coughing again. "Daddy's gotta go now, okay?"

Philip stood up but his daughter took his hand stopping him from walking. "Don't go." She said with a sad voice.

"I have to, honey." He answered. "I'll go get your medicine."

"I love you, daddy."

Philip felt his chest aches; tears filled his eyes again.

"I love you too, Penny." He squeezed her hand and walked away from her. Doctor Alice was at the door, waiting for him.

"Do you know what is?" He asked her, closing the door behind him and taking off the mask.

Alice was holding her clipboard and a pen, which she constantly kept pressing the button of it; she was clearly concerned about Penny. She feared that the girl didn't survive.

"All the symptoms say tuberculosis, but I don't know..." She said, looking at the clipboard. Then, she looked at Philip. "She is in a more advanced state of the disease. It's like she skipped the dry cough, weakness, low fever... Are you sure she didn't show those symptoms before?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure." Philip replied. "Can we treat it?"

Alice hesitated for a moment. "Yes." She said. "But we need more antibiotics. Tuberculosis is caused by a bacteria and it takes... A long time to heal."

Philip nodded. "Write it down the medicine, I'll send a group to a pharmacy today."

The pediatrist wrote it down her clipboard and gave to him the name of all medicine she needed. Not only for Penny, but for the whole infirmary.

"Make sure you check if they're expired." She said, handing the paper to him.

"What makes you think I'm going?" He smiled, lightly.

"What, you're not gonna send Mamet, are you?!" She exclaimed.

"Yes." He said, walking away and entering the hallway. He walked through the hallway, with his hands on his back. He walked through the only door and closed it behind him.

On the empty alley, he walked toward the warehouse, whistling; he acted like he hadn't just seen his sick daughter, like nothing had happened. When he entered the warehouse, he heard voices coming from the armory. He got there just in time to see Merle's face when Milton handed him the prosthesis.

"You did this overnight?" Lena exclaimed.

"No." Philip replied, making all of them look at him. "The baseball bat... Yes." He walked toward them, slowly. "But the prosthesis... We found it before we found this place... I knew there was the right kind of person for it." He placed a hand on Merle's shoulder. "So what do you say?"

"I'm starting to like this place already." Merle said, smiling. Philip laughed.

"That's the spirit." He said. "Now. I know I just asked you to work with us, but we need to go on a run already."

"To where?" Milton asked.

"The nearest pharmacy." Philip started walking away, the others following them. "See, my daughter is getting worse." They reached the outside, and began walking through the alley, taking another way to reach the center of the town. "Alice said it's TB. We need antibiotics, and fast."

"Who's going?" Merle asked.

"You." The Governor replied. Merle frowned. "And some of my boys. You'll know them."

"And this is only for medicine?" Lena, who was listening the conversation, spoke.

"Well, we're going to a pharmacy." Philip said. "If you want something, you ask them."

"And what if I want to come with them?"

Philip stopped walking and looked at her. She saw that as a sign to keep talking.

"I mean, do you think that your boys will know what type of pads do I need?" Merle looked at her and then to Philip. The leader listened to her patiently. "You said there were thirty people in here. Are they all men?"

Philip shook his head and she kept talking. "So if there are women in here, I bet you already had problems with that kind of thing. I could help you. I could ask them what they need and go get it. It will be a lot easier for you."

There was a moment of silence while Philip thought about what she said. She was right, he had a few problems with women before, and the last thing he needed was a rebellion. He didn't want to create a sexist community. He wanted to create a community where they all could forget what was going on outside the fences.

"You're in." He said with a smile. Lena almost didn't believe. He turned around and started walking again. Lena smiled and followed him. "I'll give you a list of all women in here and tomorrow you can ask them what they need and you go get it."

Philip led them to a big house and they entered it. "This is our headquarters." He said and pointed to a door on the living room. "That's our venue. We gather around every morning and have breakfast to get ready for the day."

He led them to the kitchen, which was full of men, having breakfast. Philip introduced Merle and Lena to everyone and told them about the supplies run.

After a while, Lena was leaned on the counter and Merle was talking to one of the men that she already had forgotten his name. The others were talking to each other and getting ready to the supplies run. She watched him, all cocky, showing his prosthesis, talking out loud. She smiled a little bit and felt something on her chest. Her smile disappeared and she looked away from him. She knew exactly what was happening. She didn't want to think about it too much, she didn't want to accept it. She remembered the time she was with Morgan and his son, how she didn't care about them. They were good people, and still she didn't give a shit if they die. But Merle. Merle wasn't good. Merle wasn't the kind of person who you want to be intimate. Why did she care about him and not with the others?

"Lena, right?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned around and saw a blonde young man, with blue eyes and a light skin smiling at her with bright white tooth. She wondered how his smile was so white on a freaking apocalypse. She nodded, holding her baseball bat tight in her hands. "Nice bat." She looked at it and smiled lightly.

"Thanks, I guess..." She answered. "The barbed wire was The Governor's idea." She laughed under her breath.

"I'm Evan." He said extending his hand to her. She stared it for a moment and then shook it.

"Lena." She said.

"Yeah, I know." Evan answered with a smile. Lena smiled with him.

"Yeah." She laughed under her breath and looked at her hands.

"Her?" Martinez asked Philip, looking at the girl. They were at the corner of the kitchen, watching her to flirt with Evan. "You want me to train her?! Man, what about Merle?"

"Merle doesn't need to be trained." Philip answered. "He has military training. I need her on the team, Caesar. We need her."

"Why is she so important to us?"

Philip hesitated for a moment. "We need diversity." He told him the truth. "If we want to create a community here, a society, we have to give a chance to these women. If they feel small, they will rebel. And a rebellion is the last thing we need, right?"

Martinez looked at him, as the leader walked away from him. Philip turned his head to him and said,

"You can use the arena to do the job."

Martinez looked at the girl again. Once in a while, she eyed Merle. Looking at her, Caesar saw her face. He could see that she was a little uncomfortable while Evan was trying to flirt with her. Without thinking much, he walked over them. Lena looked at him waiting for him to say something. But the man just looked at her. She looked at Evan with the corner of the eye. Martinez didn't know what to say; he was so focused on getting there that he forgot to think of what he was going to say.

"You must be Martinez." Lena said.

"Yeah." He tried to sound professional. "I'm the one who's gonna train you."

"Yeah, The Governor told me."

"Great." He started to walk away. "We start right after I come back."

"Oh." Lena sounded surprised. "Already?"

"Yes, we're going to start at the arena."

"We have an arena?"

Martinez didn't hear was she said, because he was already beside Merle, on the other side of the kitchen.

"You're gonna like him." Evan said, making her look at him. "He already trained me."

"Oh really?" She said looking at Martinez again.

"Yeah..." He looked at the plaid shirt she was wearing. "And I wouldn't wear delicate shirts if I were you."

He walked away, leaving Lena confused. She watched him gather around other men. He looked like a nice guy. She then looked at Merle. She didn't want to compare both of them, but she was already doing it.

"Lena." Philip called her from the kitchen door, snapping her out of her thoughts. She walked toward him, the baseball bat still on her hands. "Here." He handed her a clipboard with the name of all women written on it. There was a blank space beside each name; Philip pointed to these spaces explaining her to write the things that they need.

"Only necessary things." He said. "No nail polish, or things like that."

"Okay." She replied, nodding and looking to the clipboard. There were about fifteen women on the list; at the end of it, Lena read her own name.

"Alright everybody!" Philip exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "As you know, I'm not going on this run this time. So, I decided to choose some people to go in my place." Everyone was listening to him. "Merle." He pointed to Merle who smiled. "Evan." The blonde guy gave him a half smile and looked at Lena. She smiled to him, lightly and looked away. "As always, Martinez." Caesar didn't seem too impressed, and he wasn't. He had done a million times; went to pick up food, medicine, clothes and a lot of other things. Philip kept pointing to random guys and telling them what they should do. But he didn't call Lena. He said to her that she would on the next day with some men to the next grocery store.

"Load the cars, guys!" Philip exclaimed. "You're already late."

Lena watched all the called men getting out of the kitchen. She walked toward Merle and touched his arm.

"Hey, be careful." She smiled lightly.

He looked at her and grinned. "I'm always careful." He winked at her.

~oOo~

"Miss Keys?" Lena said to the woman who opened the door of her apartment. She decided to write all the women's wishes while the men were in the run. She also had remembered what Evan had said about wearing delicate shirts in the training with Martinez. She didn't know why, she just put another shirt. She had found that her vision was starting to get bad again. She couldn't see people from a certain distance; she even mistook a person with a walker on the streets of the town. So she had searched her backpack for her old glasses. It's been some time since she didn't use them. They were simple, with no fancy frames; a lot looked like Milton's glasses. She also found some male shirts on her backpack. She didn't know they were there. She let them on her bed and went the streets again. The first name on the list was Abigail Keys.

"Yeah, that's me." The ginger woman answered.

"My name is Lena and I'm working for The Governor today." She made a pause, but the Abigail didn't say a thing. "Uh, my job is to make sure that all women here have the things they need for hygiene and basic survival things… And I wanted to know if there is anything you need, like pads, clothes or even towels?"

"Ah, so they're finally doing this, huh?" Abigail leaned on the door frame. "There are actually a few things I need…"

~oOo~

The pharmacy Philip told them to go was wrecked. When the boys arrived there, they were disappointed. It's been a while since they found a place which wasn't wrecked or empty. Merle got out of the car, followed by the other members of the group. Except Milton. It was the first time he went out on a run for supplies. He had got out with The Governor a few times, but never with a "mission" to do.

"Hey, Mamet!" Martinez exclaimed, tapping the car glass with his knuckles, making Milton jump scared. "Come out already."

"What's wrong with him?" Merle asked.

Martinez shrugged, looking at the little town that they were in. The streets were empty, the cars that were there were wrecked and there was garbage all over the place. Two months. It's been only two months since the outbreak, and the world was already sunk in deep shit. Martinez thought about his old job. He thought about those children he used to teach. He about what he had become now; a trainer.

The sound of the door of the car opening made him come back to reality. Milton got out of the car, a little bit sweaty. Without saying a word, he started walking toward the pharmacy. Evan had already checked the place, and it was clear.

"Make sure the snacks aren't expired!" Martinez exclaimed to the boys entering the store. He stood outside, posting guard, together with Merle.

They were in silence for a while, before Martinez speaking up.

"Is she your sister?"

Merle looked at him, confused. It took a while for him to realize he was talking about Lena.

"Do I look like her brother?" He replied, rough.

"With the way you almost shot me yesterday? Yeah, you look a lot like her brother." Martinez looked at the empty streets, holding his gun tight in his hands. Merle scoffed.

"Girl's been through a lot in that day." He said like it was like years ago. "Almost was raped twice."

Martinez frowned and looked at him in surprise. "You telling me that time weren't the first time?"

"Nope." Merle looked at the streets. "She's just some girl I met before I lose my hand."

"Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask about that." He turned to Merle. "How did you lose it?"

"Some idiot handcuffed me on a roof." Merle answered; eyes still on the empty streets. "Left me there to die."

"By yourself?!"

"Nah… Lena stayed with me. Said she wasn't gonna leave me." He started to laugh. "Met the girl in the one day, and she decided to stay with a redneck asshole."

Martinez looked to Merle's right arm. "And your hand?"

"Asked the girl to cut it. She hadn't the stomach to do it, so I did it myself." He lied.

"You're one tough son a of bitch." Martinez looked to the streets again and spotted a walker. He raised his gun to shoot it, but Merle interrupted him, putting his hand on the top of the shotgun, lowering it.

"Let me debut this beauty." He smiled and walked toward the dead-living.

~oOo~

"What happened to your face?" Mrs. Post asked Lena at her doorstep. Lena was writing her requests on the clipboard and stopped when heard the question.

"It was an accident." Lena replied, after hesitating for a while; her eyes still on the clipboard.

"An accident?" Mrs. Post's southern accent became audible. "What kind of accident let you with one deep cut on the face?"

"I had a cat." Lena thought fast and said the first excuse that came in her mind.

"With one claw?"

Lena looked to her clipboard again, feeling uncomfortable with the lack of personal space the lady was providing to her. She, then, changed the subject and hoped that the woman didn't realize.

"So, Mrs. Post, this is all?"

"Oh, please, call me Ruth." Ruth shrugged.

"Right… Ruth. That's all?"

"Yes, dearie. You can go now." She leaned closer to the girl, her blue eyes looking straight to Lena's hazel ones. "And don't worry. I'll keep your secret."

Ruth gave her a smile and winked to the girl. Lena didn't say a word when the lady slammed the door on her face. Of course Ruth didn't know the real story, but she did think there was something wrong with Lena.

Lena just took a deep breath and turned around. Mrs. Post was the last name on the list and now Lena could go to her apartment and rest for a while. She walked through the streets of Woodbury and looked at the children playing at a little square of grass in front of one of the buildings. She smiled lightly. She thought she'd never see children smiling again. She thought she'd never see children anymore.

She walked toward Philip's apartment, holding the clipboard tight on her chest. The future of the women in that place was on her hands, and she felt responsible for it. Lena knocked on The Governor's door and there was nothing but silence for a moment. She was about to leave when he opened the door.

"Lena." He said, smiling as always.

"Hey…" Lena said talking off her glasses.

"I didn't know you wore glasses."

"Only when I can't see." She smiled, a little embarrassed. Philip laughed at her joke, and invited her in.

She entered his apartment looking around. Philip gestured to the table and she sat in one of the chairs in front of him.

"I know what you mean now." She said handing the clipboard to him.

"How come?" He picked up the clipboard and looked at the names and requests beside them.

"Most of them did want nail polish."

Philip laughed and Lena smiled. He pointed to a name on the list which had a star beside it. "Why this one is marked?"

She looked at the name. Karen Oakley. "Oh." She said. "That's Karen. She has a special request."

"What it is?"

Lena hesitated for a minute. "She wants to help to protect the town." When Philip didn't say anything, she kept talking. "She said, and I quote, 'Since they let you in charge of the women, I was thinking about join the barriers.'"

"And what did you say?"

"That I was going to talk to you."

"What do you think?"

Lena frowned, surprised to hear The Governor ask her opinion. "Um…" She said. "I don't think she's ready for it. I mean, she said it's been only a week she's here."

"But you arrived here just yesterday." Philip looked at her. Lena looked at him, surprised by the fact she had forgotten that detail. Embarrassed, she opened her mouth to say something, but Philip interrupted her laughing. "I'm kidding."

"Oh." She looked at the table, laughing under her breath.

"Hey, relax!" Philip touched her shoulder. "I'm kidding."

Lena laughed with him. Philip raised his glass with whiskey he was drinking.

"You want some?" He offered.

"Oh, no." she shook her head. "I don't drink."

"Yeah, I thought you didn't…"

The girl smiled lightly, and then looked at her hands. "I should go…" She said after a while, standing up. "Get ready for Martinez and whatever he's gonna do with me."

Philip laughed. "Ah, yes." He said, standing up with her. "Good luck."

She frowned. She didn't understand why everyone was saying that to her. Like if training with Martinez was a bad thing. Lena just nodded to him and walked toward the door.

"Tomorrow I'll send you in your mission with one of my boys." He smiled to her opening the door.

"Okay, then." Lena smiled and walked away from him, putting her glasses on. When she reached the outside, she saw the two cars entering the town. It was Merle and the others. She smiled and ran toward the garage, where they parked the cars.

"Mamet?" Merle asked when saw Lena wearing glasses. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"How was it?" She asked curious, trying to peek what the group had brought to the town.

"Fine." He growled and turned around.

"You're covered in blood!" She exclaimed, looking at his shirt. Merle ignored her and turned around to pick up the things he brought from the pharmacy. Lena pretended she didn't notice and kept talking. "How is out there?"

"Same as yesterday." He answered, picking up a box from the pickup, struggling a little. He lost his balance, and almost dropped the box, but Lena held it before it could escape his only hand. He looked at her at the same time she looked at him. The girl smiled at him, but the smile was gone quickly.

"Uh… I should go." She said, letting go of the box, and turning around.

"Yeah, you should." Merle murmured, watching the girl walk toward her place.

_Stop being a pussy. _

He shook his head and walked toward the headquarters.

~oOo~

"Start running." Martinez ordered. "As many laps as you can in five minutes."

"What?" Lena looked at the empty arena. The place was huge, like a normal school gym. "You're kidding, right?"

"No." He looked at her. "Run."

Lena frowned and started running. She wasn't exactly sure why she had to run around the arena, but she didn't questioned. She supposed that after that she would learn how to wrestle.

She was wrong.

When she finished the first lap, she was already sweating and breathing heavily. However, she kept running. She started to run slowly halfway the second lap; Martinez blew a whistle, making her stop.

"Time!" He yelled from the other side of the arena.

"Already?" She breathed leaning herself on her knees.

"A lap and a half in five minutes." He laughed at her. "That's pathetic!"

She walked toward him, frowning again. "Well, this place is huge!" She exclaimed, still trying to catch her breath.

"Bullshit."

Lena just looked at Martinez, feeling her blood boil in anger. She took a deep breath and tried to argue again.

"These jeans aren't made for running."

"Well, then use pants that are!" He raised his voice.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to pick my workout suit when the dead started fucking walking!" Lena also raised her voice.

"Stop making excuses, you just had to run! You would be dead if there was a roamer behind you!"

"I thought you were going to teach me how to wrestle, not how to run!"

"Well, news flash." He said with a low voice, getting close to Lena's face. "I'm your trainer. I tell you what to do. And right now, you need to lose weight, guess for what. To learn how to wrestle." He walked away from her and kept talking without looking at her.

"Now, run again."


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N:**_ Okayyyy, so I'm back. I know, I'm sorry; I just needed to take a break. But we're back, haha. I was going to write a few chapters but I ended up not writing it. Fuck it.

My friend from my town is reading this fic now, so I'll try to be professional with this *hides embarrassed*

Anyway! I hope you like this chapter (:

~oOo~

Lena rubbed her neck as she closed the door of her apartment. Her entire body burned in pain, especially the legs. She wasn't used to exercise. On the day before, besides making her run on the arena, Martinez also made her do some exercises. He kept insisting that Lena had to lose weight to start with the "real" training.

She went down the stairs, slowly, with her eyes shut tight. It wasn't until she hit Merle's torso that she opened them.

"Sorry." She mumbled to him and he just laughed.

"Had a bad night, Cherry?" He asked as both of them went down the last flight of stairs and left the building.

"I had a bad day, actually." She replied.

"Oh, yeah." He nodded. "The training."

"He keeps insisting that I need to lose weight." She said, shaking her head.

"Well, you do." Merle said without looking at her.

"Merle!" She exclaimed, laughing and pushing his shoulder lightly.

"I'm just sayin' the truth!" He laughed with her. It didn't matter what he said about her, she would laugh and pretend it was okay for him to make fun of her. "So, guess I wasn't that useful, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't teach you well to beat those guys back at the highway."

"Oh, don't do this to me." Lena smiled, touching his arm. He fought with the will of flinch his arm from her.

When they reached the infirmary, Lena started walking toward it and Merle called her.

"Doctor Stevens wants to see my cut." She explained.

"I heard you're going to your first supplies run today." He ignored her. "Take care out there."

"Well, I'm not going by myself." She shrugged. Merle looked at her, smiling and pretending that the world wasn't sunk in deep shit.

"Take care." He repeated looking at her eyes. Merle didn't wait for her reaction; he just turned around and walked toward the principal house. Lena smiled at his back and mumbled to herself.

"I will."

Sighing, she turned around and walked toward the infirmary. She passed by the empty reception balcony and entered one the hallways.

"Can I help you?" Doctor Alice asked her, making her stop in the middle of the way. Lena turned and saw the blonde woman.

"You're Doctor Alice, right?" She asked her. The doctor nodded and Lena smiled. "Hi, I'm Lena." She offered her hand to Alice. "The Governor put me on charge of getting supplies for women here. I made a list yesterday, but you weren't on it."

"Oh, probably because I asked too much medicine for him yesterday." Alice joked and Lena laughed with her.

"I'm still going to get the supplies today, is there something-"

"Oh, no, I'm totally fine." She interrupted Lena. "Don't worry about me."

"Oh." Lena tried not to seem disappointed. "Okay, then... Uh, I was looking for Doctor Stevens?"

"He's in his office, second door to the left."

"Thank you, Doctor." Lena smiled. "If you change your mind about the supplies, contact me."

Alice smiled at her and watched her leave to Doctor Stevens' office. Once Lena's back was turned to her, her smile disappeared. The Doctor walked toward a door and picked a mask from her coat pocket. After putting it on her face, she opened the door to the room Penny was on. She walked to her bed, slowly, watching the girl's face in a peaceful sleep. Alice picked up a pair of gloves from her other pocket and put them on. She touched the girl's face gently and felt the heat through the rubber gloves. She was burning up in fever. The Doctor took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she remembered Doctor Stevens' words.

"_More people will come. More people to take care of. Did you ever think about the medicines? Do you really want to waste good medicine for six months for a chance of the girl surviving?__"_

With shaking hands, she reached the same pocket from before and took a small glass bottle. Walking toward the counter, she picked up a syringe and transferred the liquid from the small bottle to it. Taking another deep breath, she planted the needle on Penny's arm and released the medicine in her vein.

~oOo~

"Well, it's healing pretty fast." Doctor Stevens said, touching Lena's face. "But I can't take the stitches off yet. Does it still hurt?"

Lena nodded.

"So, I'm gonna give you some pain killers, and you can go." He smiled lightly to her. Walking toward the medicine locker, he picked up a key from his pocket and opened it. He took one of the bottles and opened it, picking up two pills and handed Lena. "If the pain persists, I will give you something stronger."

"Thank you." She replied, taking the pills and standing up from the chair she was sitting. She turned around to leave, but stopped before walking. She turned around again and looked at the Doctor. "How old is The Governor's daughter?"

Stevens just looked at her surprised. He tried not to look and sound nervous.

_Does she-_

"I'm in charge of the supplies for the women." Lena interrupted his thoughts. "How old is she?"

The man hesitated for a moment. "Um… I think… Five or six?"

"Oh." She nodded, frowning and turning around again to walk out of the office. Dr. Stevens ran to the door and opened to her. "Thank you." She said smiling lightly. "And… Thank you for the night I arrived here. I don't think I thanked you properly."

The Doctor shrugged. "It's my job." He said smiling. Lena nodded and walked out of the room.

Still holding the pills, Lena walked toward the headquarters quickly. She didn't want to be late on her "first day of work". She didn't want to admit it, but she was nervous. Which was ridiculous. She was outside just two days ago, and she was bitching about getting out?

_Stop being a pussy._

She rushed and entered the big house to find some of the men sitting on the couch, talking and laughing about something.

"Morning." She mumbled to them, walking toward the kitchen where Merle, Martinez and Evan were. She nodded to them as she walked toward the cabinet, opening and taking a glass from there. She went to the sink and filled with water.

"What you got there?" Merle asked walking toward her.

"Pain killers." She replied, putting both pills on her mouth and drinking the water.

"You didn't save me some?"

Lena looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Are you in pain?" She asked, smiling.

Merle chuckled and Lena laughed at him, putting the glass on sink. Evan smiled at the scene and said,

"How long you two are together?"

Merle's smile disappeared and Lena looked at the blonde man. She cleaned her throat, swallowing hard. Evan frowned at both reactions.

"Did I say-"

"We're not together." Merle interrupted him, walking toward the kitchen door and getting out of the place. He walked to the living room, where the others were. He sat on the couch, beside a man he already had forgotten the name and tried to join the conversation.

Merle didn't know why he was so pissed at Evan for thinking that they were a couple. He didn't want to be known as "Lena's boyfriend". He didn't want to be related to her. He didn't want to be attached to her. Sure she saved his life and stayed beside him when he was unconscious, and he appreciated that. But all the guys that served the Governor thought that Merle was tough guy. After he did to that walker on the pharmacy, all of them started to look at him in a different way. They started to like him, and Merle obviously liked that. The fact that younger men looked at him, hoping to be like him one day made his ego grow bigger. Made him feel like he was starting to rise in that place. But again, Lena was bringing him down.

The girl was messing with him. She wouldn't let his mind alone. He had to find a way, something, _anything_ to get away from her.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. It was The Governor, smiling as always, entering the house. Merle stood up from his seat and walked toward him.

"One quick word before everything starts?" The redneck asked the leader and the dark haired man nodded. They walked toward a corner of the living room. Merle lowered his voice, once Philip's attention was in him. "Please don't make me go with her."

"Lena?" Philip asked. "Why not?"

"Look. I'll do whatever you want, just… I don't… Want her to think I actually care about her."

"You don't?" The leader frowned. "You almost killed us when we find you guys on the highway."

"Well, I don't." Merle looked away, anger growing on his chest. "I don't wanna be stuck with her."

"Alright." Philip said, making Merle look at him in surprise. "The boys told me that you did very well on the supplies run yesterday." Merle shrugged, adjusting his hips and smiling. "I want you to help me with something, after I send Lena to the grocery store. But no one can know about it."

"You got it." Merle smiled and The Governor nodded to him and walked away, entering the kitchen. He saw Lena and Evan talking and laughing about something, Martinez was in a corner, with a cup of coffee on his hands.

"Good morning." Philip said and Lena smiled at him. He walked toward Martinez and touched his arm. "I need you to go with Lena on her supplies run today."

Martinez closed his eyes and sighed in disappointment. He didn't want to get near that girl after what had happened on the last day.

"I know that you don't get along with her." Philip said when saw that Martinez was about to complain. "But I need you to try. It's not an order, it's a favor."

Martinez looked at The Governor's eyes with anger. He hated when he said those things. _It__'__s a favor._ It made him feel like shit. Eventually, he nodded and took a sip from his coffee. Philip nodded and walked toward the kitchen door, calling three men who were sitting on the couch. Walking toward Lena, he said,

"I'm gonna indicate three of my boys to go with you and Martinez today."

"Martinez?" Lena asked eyeing the man at the corner of the kitchen, trying not to sigh in disappointment.

"Yes." The Governor replied and stood his arm to the three men that were now standing behind them. "These are Crowley, Jacob and Victor."

Lena felt a little scared of them for a second. Crowley was holding a bow in his hand and the girl wondered if his aim was good. She looked at his face and saw a light smile that contradicted his dark skin. She smiled back for a second and then looked to the Jacob. The man was holding an axe and had a tattoo on his neck. He reminded her of that man on the highway. She brushed those thoughts away and focused on the last man, Victor. He wasn't a man, he was actually a boy. She wondered if he was younger than her, and looked at his face. His light skin, his brown eyes. She frowned when he ignored her and looked away.

"What about Merle?" She asked, looking back to Philip.

"Merle's busy for the day." The leader smiled.

"I can go in his place, if you want." Evan said, looking at Lena. She looked at him and then to The Governor.

The leader just shrugged. "It's your call." Evan smiled and looked at Lena again. "By the way, your baseball bat is in the armory, right there."

Philip pointed to a door beside the stove of the kitchen that before was a pantry and then walked away from the kitchen. Evan started walking toward the pantry's door.

"I thought the armory were in the warehouse." Lena commented, following Evan.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about this place." Martinez mumbled when they passed by him. She knew he was doing that to provoke her. She knew that he didn't like her, especially after the day before. She didn't say a word for him and he just shook his head, walking away from her.

"Don't even worry about him." Evan said, picking up a key from the board on the wall. "He's been stressed out lately."

"I don't." Lena said, honestly. Evan looked at her surprised. She widened her eyes and tried to fix it. "I mean, I-I... We had a fight-"

"Is it because of the training?" Evan laughed, opening the door to the armory.

Lena shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Yeah…"

Evan laughed. "Yeah, Martinez can be a pain in the ass when he's training."

They entered the room and she could see that it wasn't a small one. There were dozens of guns and weapons of all kind inside the pantry. Almost half of the place had guns on the shelves.

"In our armory at the warehouse we keep the melee weapons we made. Here, we keep our firearms." Evan said, picking up his shotgun from a shelf. He picked up Lena's bat and an Imanishi 17.

"Wow." The girl whispered looking at the armory. "That's all the citizens' weapons?"

"Yeah." Evan replied, handing her bat to her. "Crazy, huh? These folks had all kinda gun with them. That's why we took them. You never know what they can do with a gun in hands. And speaking of which." He showed the gun to her. The girl widened her eyes and gasped when she saw it. She looked at Evan who was still smiling at her. "Take it."

"I can't." She answered.

"Do you know how to reload and unlock the safety?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then what's the problem?" He interrupted her. She looked at the gun and then to him again.

"The Governor never said something about me having a firearm." She said in a low voice.

"I'll talk to him." He turned around and picked up a belt from another shelf. "See, you even can have your own gun belt."

Lena looked at him again. She didn't know why he was being so nice at her. She narrowed her eyes lightly at him. The girl didn't know his intentions with her, but eventually she picked up the belt and the gun of his hand.

~oOo~

"Relax, okay?" Evan said, looking at the road. "You saw me talking to him. He said it was okay, as long as you left it in the armory when we get back."

Lena sighed and leaned her head on the window of the car. They were on their way to the grocery store to get supplies for the women. Evan and Lena together in a car, while the boys and Martinez were in the other.

"What if the owner of the gun wants it back?" She said, looking at the landscape.

"He won't, okay?"

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Because!" He exclaimed. Lena frowned and looked at him. He took a deep breath and hesitated. He let out a sigh and shook his head. "It was my father's."

"Oh." Lena felt uncomfortable. "Then why did you give them to me?"

"I didn't give them to you." Evan laughed. "I borrowed to you."

"Oh... Okay." She looked away, embarrassed. There was an awkward silence before Evan speak up.

"We were in Atlanta when everything started."

Lena looked at him and she could see it. He tried to hide it, but obviously she noticed it. Pain.

"My entire life... It was always him and I." He kept talking, feeling a lump on his throat. He couldn't cry, not in front of her. "And then suddenly, it wasn't." He put his hand on his tights, trying not to cry.

Lena felt her chest heavy for him. She knew exactly what he felt. Slowly, she put her hand above his and squeezed it. He looked at her and she gave him a tiny smile.

"It gets better." She lied. "I promise you."

He smiled back, tears filling his eyes. She smiled lightly. She didn't feel guilty for lying at him. In fact, she didn't even know if it would get better than that. She just wanted to comfort him.

They spent the rest of the trip in silence. Lena kept reading the list of things she had to pick up at the grocery store. She had divided it in three parts: cleaning products, feminine products and clothes. The Governor also asked to see if there was food at the place and ask them to bring it to the town. The boys didn't want to take too long at the place, especially because it was a place that none of them had been before; so they offered to help to get the supplies. Jacob would get the cleaning products; Crowley would get the clothes and Victor would get the food. Lena decided to get the feminine products to avoid awkward situations. Evan and Martinez would stay at the door of the store to keep watch for walkers.

When they arrived at the store, Evan and the others three men went to "clean" the inside of the store, leaving Lena and Martinez on the outside waiting for them. There was a moment where no of them spoke, making it really uncomfortable for both. All of the sudden, Martinez decided to speak.

"I'm not used to train girls."

Lena frowned and looked at him.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"'Bout yesterday." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to train girls, I always trained boys."

Lena looked away and tried not to smile at the fact he was actually apologizing to her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Evan appeared and interrupted her even before she could speak.

"It's clean. You can come in." He said, and Lena came into the store.

The smell was terrible. The fresh fruits and vegetables were starting to rotten and the result of that was a disgusting smell that aired the entire store. Evan said that most of the food was left untouched and the other supplies are all in one piece. The three boys that Philip had introduced to Lena picked up plastic bags from the cashier and she did the same. Without waiting, she went straight to the hygiene corridor. She started to pick up toothbrushes, baby wipes, pads. She realized that the plastic bags were too small to carry there, so she got back and picked up a cart and put the bags with the supplies in there.

It took some time, but eventually, they were all done. When Jacob, Victor and Crowley brought their bags to put them in the car, Lena stayed behind to pick up a few clothes to herself. In the clothes sections, she left her baseball bat in a shelf and inspected the clothes. There weren't a lot of options, it wasn't a clothing store, but she did manage to grab a few leggings and some sports bra. She felt guilty for picking up things that weren't in the list, but it was necessary. She also grabbed a few tank tops and some fitness shirts.

The girl didn't hear the steps coming from behind her. She kept paying attention on the clothes, thinking about which one would be the best to train. She only stopped when heard the groans of the walker behind her. She turned around quickly and reached out for her baseball bat. But it wasn't near her. She had left in one of the shelves a few meters from where she was. The walker looked like he had just turned; no flesh was falling from its face, no stink coming from the creature. Tall and with arms stretched, it came toward Lena who tried to grab the gun on her belt. But the walker was close, so she put her hands on its chest, stopping it from bite her. She wanted to scream, but didn't find the air on her lungs to do it. Her arms got tired quickly; the walker was too strong for her, her legs folded and she almost fell on the ground.

And then she heard it. The gunshot that saved her life, making the walker's blood splash on her face, echoed in her ears, even after the creature fell down. When she opened her eyes, she saw Martinez pointing the gun at her, with a determined face. He lowered the shotgun and let out a sigh.

"You crazy?!" He exclaimed to her.

Breathing heavily, Lena wiped her face, swallowing hard to avoid vomiting and picked up the clothes that she had dropped before.

"Why the hell did you stay behind?!"

"Don't yell at me." She said with a calm and low voice. She picked up the plastic bags from the cart and put the clothes inside of it, quickly, turning her back to him and hoping that he wouldn't ask what for the clothes are. But, of course, he did.

"Why did you pick up these clothes?"

Lena took and deep breath and closed her eyes before turning to face him to reply the question.

"No excuses, right?"

~oOo~

"You sure the town will be okay without us there?" Merle asked, as he closed the door of the car. He looked at the place that The Governor had brought him too. 'All about fishes' was the name of the store. It looked like a pet store, but only for fish obsessed. Merle frowned when saw the place.

"Yeah, Milton is taking care of things there." Philip answered, walking toward the store, with his gun on his hand.

"Okay…" Merle said following him. "If I'm allowed to ask, Governor… What the hell are we doing here?"

Philip put a finger on his lips, signaling to Merle to keep it quiet and so the redneck did. The leader knocked on the glass, waiting for a walker to hear and come to them, but there was nothing but silence.

"It's my daughter's birthday this week." Philip said, after a while. He opened the door and walked into the store.

"You thinking 'bout give her a fish?" He followed the leader and looked at the store. It was untouched. The fish tanks were still filled with water, and the fishes that were on them were all dead. Merle approached one of the tanks and looked at the dead fishes. "'Cause if you do, I've got some bad news for you…"

"Don't be stupid, I know that." The Governor replied, walking around the place. "I'm thinking about getting a tank and filling with something else."

"Like what?"

Philip shrugged. "I'll think of something else." He walked toward a storage door and placed his hand on the door handle. Slowly, he opened the door, with his gun in the left hand. The loud groan of a walker scared both men, and Merle turned to see The Governor and the undead in a fight, which the alive man was losing. Merle raised his gun and aimed at the walker's head. Without wasting any time, he pulled the trigger, hitting the creature's head and making Philip sigh in relief. He looked back at the man who saved his life and nodded to him. Merle nodded back and both kept their guns in their hands, and in alert just in case.

The dark haired man, walked into the back room. It looked like a place where the employees would have lunch and hang out in the break. Philip stepped on the broken glass, inspecting the place. After he found nothing, he came back to the shop. He asked for Merle's help to empty the fish tanks and put them in the truck.

It took a few minutes but they had managed to put three empty tanks in the truck. Philip hadn't thought of what he was going to put in those fish tanks, but we would figure it out. Penny would love it anyways. She loved everything that her dad did.

~oOo~

"We need you on the headquarters, now!" Milton exclaimed to Martinez in the moment that their car entered the gates of the town. Martinez parked the car and jumped out of the car. Lena saw the scene from the passenger seat on the car with Evan.

"What's going?" Martinez asked as he ran toward the headquarters.

"Four roamers got into the town." Shumpert, a man who was in charge of the barriers of the town said. "Just now."

"What?!" Martinez exclaimed. "Someone was attacked?"

"No." Milton replied, running behind them. "We heard the screams before anything could happen."

"How did they get in?!" Martinez entered the house, going straight to the armory.

"The outskirts of the town."

"And The Governor?"

Shumpert shook his head. "Went out."

"To where?" Martinez frowned.

Shumpert just shrugged. Ceaser looked at Milton who felt a little bit uncomfortable about the pressure of knowing where his friend was.

"He- He didn't told me where-" He started to stammer, but Martinez interrupted him.

"Dammit!" Martinez grabbed his gun and ran out of the house. People were starting to panic and wonder where their leader was. They were recurring to Martinez as he walked toward the outskirts of the town.

"Everybody stay away from the barriers!" He yelled to the people, once they reached where the walkers where. When he shot the first undead, people got scared and ran away. There weren't many of them, but enough to scare the small society.

Lena and Evan heard the gunshots from the other side of the town. Both were picking up the supplies from the cars and heading to the headquarters. The girl put her hand on the gun she was carrying. She looked at Evan who was with the same confused look on his face. In the middle of the way, they met Milton walking fast toward them.

"Hey, what happened?" Evan asked, approaching the scared man.

"Some roamers invaded the town." He replied, a little nervous.

"Oh my God, is everyone okay?" Lena asked, worried about the population.

"How the hell did this happen?" Evan asked, frowning.

"Everyone is okay, no one was attacked. They entered through the outskirts of the town. We have to fix that." Milton sighed, looking at the ground. Lena thought that he could be a great leader if it wasn't for the fact that he looked like a forty year old nerd.

"What about the Governor?" Evan asked.

"He's out of the town. I just hope that I'm not the one who tells him about that."

"Why?" Lena questioned.

"His daughter passed away."

Lena felt her heart drop. She didn't know the girl, but she knew she was too young to die like that.

"How long ago?" She asked.

"A few minutes before you enter the gate."

"Won't she turn?" Evan asked.

"Yes. Alice is keeping watch on her. We don't know when it will happen, but it will. We're trying to wait for him before put her down." Milton sighed. First, Philip's wife, Sarah, and then his daughter, Penny.

Lena's eyes filled with tears. "She was only six." She whispered.

Evan was about to say something when he heard another car crossing the gates. The three of then turned their heads to see the Governor and Merle in a car. They were talking normally, without having a clue of what was happening. The gunshots had stopped now, and there was only a crowd trying to know if the walkers were dead. Some of them were wondering and asking Martinez where the Governor was.

When Philip got out of the car and saw the agitation of the people from distance. He walked quickly toward the small group, Merle following right behind him.

"What's going on?!" He asked, once he reached them.

Milton raised his hands as if he was going to touch the Governor but he dropped them on his sides. "Walkers invaded the town." He finally said. "Through the outskirts of the town." Philip was going to walk toward the crowd he saw earlier, but Mamet stopped him. "But first… Doctor Alice wants to see you… It's about Penny."

Philip stared at him for a second and then started running toward the nursery. When he got there, Dr. Stevens and Dr. Alice were waiting for him at the reception, both nervous. Philip looked at Alice, panting from the run and heard the word he didn't wanted to hear.

"I'm sorry." Alice said, tears on her eyes. "She didn't resist to the medications."

Philip's legs almost gave in. He felt his heart heavy in his chest and fought with the tears. Alice took his hands and placed a small knife on them.

"We don't have much time." She said. "You have to do it."

The dark haired man couldn't find the strength to walk. When his legs finally decided to work, he walked slowly through the hallway, toward his daughter's room. Breathing heavily, he opened the door and entered the room. Penny was still laying the bed, with her eyes closed. It looked like she was still sleeping. Philip approached her, tears already streaming down his face, the small knife still on his hands. He looked at his baby girl's face. So peaceful. So relaxed. Like she was just resting.

"_You have to do it.__"_

Alice's words echoed in his head. He took a deep breath and placed the knife in Penny's left eye. His hands were shaking and he tried to stab her. He really tried. But he couldn't. It was his daughter. His baby girl, the only thing that reminded him of his wife. He took a deep breath and dropped the weapon Alice gave him. He hugged his daughter's body and picked her up from the bed.

_No, I don__'__t._


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N:**_ This chapter sucks ass. Like so bad. But it's important. I'm sorry, I promise you that next chapter will be better. I'm sorry *hides on a corner and cries*

~oOo~

"You okay?" Merle asked Lena. She looked at him and nodded, smiling lightly, taking a deep breath. He put his hand on her shoulder and grinned at her. Right after, he walked toward the crowd that was surrounding Martinez.

They were asking about the Governor; all of them confused and wondering if the town was actually a safe place for them. Martinez was trying to calm them, but no one would listen to him.

"Alright everybody!" Merle's rough voice echoed and everyone stopped talking. "Governor is not willing to deal with this right now!"

"What do you mean he's not willing-" Someone yelled.

"What the hell is he doing-" Another person said.

"I don't think he's a good leader anymore-" Someone commented from the back of the crowd and soon, there was chaos again.

"His daughter is dead!" A feminine voice echoed on the streets and everyone was quiet again. Merle looked back and saw Lena behind him, with closed fists and a concerned look on her face. "He's not willing to deal with it, because he just lost his fucking daughter." She kept talking. "So I think it's better for all of you to listen what Merle is going to say."

Merle almost smiled. He looked to the crowd and ordered them to go to their own places, where they would be safer.

"We're going to post guard on the outskirts of the town!" He said. "There's nothing to worry about, for now."

Eventually, the crowd dispersed and Lena could go back to the headquarters. After Merle told who would be on guard, he helped Martinez with the walkers' bodies. They put it on a truck, drove them to out of town. They had chosen a place ten minutes away from Woodbury. They put the bodies in a pile and burned them. Both men stood standing, watching them burn.

"Thanks about that, man." Martinez said, quietly. "Calming the crowd..."

Merle just shrugged. "They were giving me a head ache."

Both chuckled. They stood there for a couple more minutes and then, got back to the town.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters, Lena was separating the supplies from the run. Sitting at the living room's floor, she was picking up the products, putting it in plastic bags and right after in a box behind her. All she had on her mind was Penny. She never got the chance of meeting the girl, but still, she was feeling bad. Dr. Stevens said that she had six years old, only. She clearly deserved better.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and Evan came into the living room, holding more boxes. He placed them on the floor, beside Lena and sat on the couch, watching her work, with her back turned to him.

"Merle would give a good leader." He said, suddenly, making Lena look at him. She didn't answer and got back to separate the items. And then he kept talking. "But I don't think I would want to be the one to obey him… Would you?"

"Yep." She answered, too quickly.

"But why?"

Lena frowned and stopped working. She wondered if Evan was starting to doubt that Merle had anything capacity to be a leader.

"He's always right." She said, not looking at him and got back to work.

"What do you mean?"

Lena stopped working again and turned around to look at him. "Merle saved me from a destiny worse than death." She said, with dark eyes. "He saved me from death, rape, and becoming one of the beasts that are out there. What he says to me, goes." She turned around again and looked at the floor, putting the lasts of the supplies and putting in the last box. "And he's always right."

Evan was quiet for a moment, but Lena didn't look at him.

"It was very nice of him to calm the crowd." He said, after a moment. Lena nodded, still not looking at him; her ponytail bouncing on her head. "But I don't know if I trust him… After what he did at the pharmacy yesterday, showing off and-"

"Then you're in the wrong town." Lena interrupted him. Evan was quiet again and then mumbled to himself,

"Yeah, maybe I am."

She heard the door open and close right after. She was alone again at the headquarters. The girl let out a sigh and continued working, enjoying the silence for a while. When she was done, she picked up two boxes at the same time, and with I little trouble, she stumble toward the door. She didn't have to touch the door knob because the door opened before that. She bumped in Merle for the second time in that day.

"Oh, hey!" She said, trying not to drop the boxes and look at him at the same time. Merle picked up one of the boxes and looked at her properly.

"Seems like we're always bumping into each other." He said, grinning.

"Yeah." Lena said laughing and stepping out of the house. "Uh, I'll talk to you later." She tried to pick up the box from his hand. "Gotta a lot of boxes to deliver."

Merle didn't let her catch the box. "Need any help?"

"Oh, okay." Lena tried to hide her surprise. "Sure." She smiled. "Follow me." She started walking away from them.

_What the fuck are you doing?_

Merle ignored the thoughts on his head and followed her through the town.

"Don't forget about the training today!" Martinez yelled at her, from distance.

"Okay!" She waved a hand for him.

Merle and Lena spent the rest of the morning delivering the supplies for each woman at the town. Merle didn't know why he was helping her. Maybe a little more company wouldn't be so bad for him. After all, he needed a piece of ass around him, or his name wouldn't be Merle Dixon, right? Those women at Woodbury were too old or too young for him. Lena would be the perfect piece of ass at the moment.

He forced himself to push away those thoughts. He barely knew the girl. That fact wouldn't have stopped him if it was a normal life, but she was standing right beside him and she would probably stay like that forever. That was the problem. He couldn't just use her like he used to do before with other women. She lived right above him, she worked with him, she would be in his life until the day he died. _Attachment. _That was the problem.

"Tell me, darling." Ruth said, leaning against the door frame. "What happened to the Governor's daughter?"

Lena looked to the clipboard, where she wrote an "ok" beside Ruth's name. "I don't know." She replied without looking at her. "All I know is she passed away this morning."

"I don't know if I trust him anymore. Disappearing like that..." Ruth looked around to see if there was someone on their earshot. Lena looked at Merle who looked serious at her.

"He did everything he could to keep you save and comfortable." Lena said in a serious tone, looking at the old lady. "His daughter is gone and he may be gone too for a while. But it's not because he's running away. It's because he will be mourning. Martinez and Merle will take care of things here, they will make sure we're all safe. I suggest a little bit of gratitude if you wanna stay around any longer. Have a good day."

"Uh… Good day." Ruth replied and looked at Merle, eyeing his bayonet on his pocket. Then she looked at Lena's wound on her face and tried to smile.

Lena turned on her heels to walk away and Merle followed her.

"Wanna tell me what the hell was that?" He said, walking beside her.

"Everyone is giving the Governor a hard time, just because he didn't show up yet." She said, in a mad tone. "Give the man a break, he just lost his daughter!"

"Woah!" Merle breathed, holding her arm to make her stop walking. "Calm your tits, Cherry."

Lena sighed. "I know how he feels." She said. "When my parents died, all I wanted to do was isolate myself from everything and everyone. I didn't want to know what was happening in the world I just wanted to lay in the floor and cry myself to sleep. I don't think that with him it will be any different!"

Merle stared at her brown eyes. He lowered his hand on her arm and held her hand.

"Don't worry about him." He said. "He'll be fine. He's a grown up man."

Lena smiled lightly at him and sighed. She let go of his hand and started walking again.

_Did you just grab her hand? What the fuck is wrong with you?_

Merle tried to ignore his thoughts and followed her. When they entered the headquarters, there was a man standing in the living room, with a backpack on his shoulder. Martinez and the others were staring at him, surrounding him.

"What's going on?" Lena asked, and everybody turned around to see them.

"Peter wants to leave." Martinez answered, pointing at the men.

"Why?" Merle asked as they entered the room, leaving the door open.

"After what happened today… I'm not sure if this town is safe anymore." Peter answered.

There was a moment of silence and then Merle spoke up.

"We already fixed that, there's men in every corner of the town, postin' guard." He said.

"I don't trust that." Peter was convicted that he wanted to leave. "I want my gun now."

"What makes you think you can survive out there?" A voice echoed the place, and everybody turned around to see the Governor standing at the door.

Peter swallowed hard before answering. "I've survived before coming here."

"Yeah, I remember that." Philip smiled and entered the house, closing the door behind him. "Your wife was with you, if I recall."

Peter felt his heart heavy on his chest when the leader mentioned his wife. "Y-yes." He stuttered.

"I remember you begging me to stay. She was sick wasn't she?"

Peter nodded and the Governor shrugged. "Give him his gun and let him go." He said, without looking at him. When Martinez and the boys started to complain, he just raised a hand making them stop. "If he wants to go, then we gotta let him."

Crowley walked toward the armory and picked up Peter's gun, handing him right after. They walked toward the gates of the town and watched as the man walked away from the town. When the workers started to disperse, Philip put a hand on Merle's shoulder and leaned close to his ear, so that no one would listen what he was going to say.

"Follow him." He whispered. "Take his supplies; kill him if you have to. Make him regret of leaving the town."

~oOo~

Philip got out of the car and stared at the fish store he had gone with Merle earlier in that day. Without ceremony, he walked into the store, holding Jacob's axe tight in his hands. He walked toward the walker that had almost killed him and just stared at it. The smell was the same; all of them smelled like death. The only difference was the flies that were resting on its eyes. He raised his axe and started to chop its head. He wasn't sure why he was doing this; he just needed something to live for. His daughter was dead, and he had nothing to live for now. Except… Maybe, if he could make her remember him after waking up, then everything would get back to normal. But first… He needed this.

After putting the walker's head on the truck, he went back to get the fish tanks. He got all out of them. He didn't care if it took all day. After everything was done, he drove back to Woodbury. He tried not to think of his daughter. He didn't want to believe that she was dead. Not after his wife. Not after everything he had done for her.

~oOo~

Merle followed Peter's trail on the woods in silence. He had his gun in hands and inspected carefully the ground. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with the man once he finds him. The Governor let pretty clear to make him regret of his stupid decision of leaving the town.

"_Kill him if you have to."_

He remembered his leader's words. Merle wasn't so sure if Philip was being serious about it. Taking his supplies was already a hard work, but killing the man? That was a dirty job. But, thinking in that way…

There was no way of taking his supplies without making him angry. He could come back with a group and shoot everyone in the town. Merle automatically thought about Lena. She wouldn't be safe if he didn't kill Peter. He had to kill him. For the safety of the citizens.

Merle punished himself, mentally, for thinking about Lena. Wasn't he the man who asked the Governor to not to go with her on her supplies run? Why does his mind kept insisting on going back to the girl? Her brown hair, her brown eyes, her pale lips, and most important, her chest. He thought about how blessed he was to have the girl around.

_Shut the fuck up! It's just a girl, just another bitch to fuck! Why is she different from the others?_

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a trail of Peter's boot. He followed it, quickly and found the man who was in a tiny clearing, sitting on the ground, eating a can of beans. When peter heard the snapping sounds behind him he put a hand on his gun.

"No, no, no." Merle said, walking toward him and touching his gun on Peter's head. "Put the gun down."

Peter obeyed the man, with the heart racing on his chest.

"Hands up!" The redneck ordered. Peter raised his hands. "Now… Governor told me to take your supplies, now do me a favor, dickhead, and stand up slowly."

Peter did as Merle said, slowly getting up and turning around. When he saw it was Merle, he widened his eyes and dropped his mouth open.

"Surprise!" Merle grinned and quickly stabbed him with his bayonet on his torso. "Shoulda stayed in the town." His voice was low, like it was a threat.

Peter fell on the ground, moaning in pain. Merle forced himself to watch the man give his last breath. After that, he picked up his things and walked back to the town.

His hand wasn't shaking. He didn't feel anything else. He didn't feel good or bad or relieved. It was like it never had happened.

~oOo~

"Ah, you're finally awake." Philip said when he heard the groans coming from behind him. The little monster, that once was Penny, had opened its white eyes and let out a tiny growl. It looked around, searching for something alive so it could crave its teeth on and have a good meal. The little walker found the human being that was in the room with it and stood up, stumbling toward him but being stopped coldly by a rope that was around its waist.

"Sorry about the rope." Philip said. "I knew you would want to come running to daddy once you were awake, but I can't hug you now, princess, I'm sorry."

Penny growled in response.

"Now, don't be a little brat, sweetheart." Philip turned around to face her. "Look what I did for you!" He pointed to behind him, where he had put the fish tanks. The undead didn't look at the tanks, but kept focused on the man himself.

"Look at it, Penny." His voice was gentle at the beginning. "Penny…"

His eyes filled up with tears; a sound of begging on his voice. Then he started yelling.

"Penny, I did it for you!" The monster kept ignoring its owner and just growled.

"I know it's not much, but there will be more heads on them, I promise you!"

He stopped yelling when he heard a knock on the door. He widened his eyes and quickly stepped out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him. He walked quickly toward the main door, hoping that whoever was there didn't listen to the walker's growls.

Merle was in his door, with a serious look on his face; blood was in his clothes and he was still holding Peter's backpack. The Governor stared at him for a moment, in silence.

"It's done." Merle said, in a low voice.

"Did you-" Philip interrupted himself and then Merle replied.

"Yes."

The Governor took a deep breath.

"Good. Don't tell anyone about this."


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N**_: So in this chapter I did a fast forward, because ain't nobody got time for waiting eight months until Michonne and Andrea show up at the town right? Right? Even though I just skipped like five or four months, but still, a lot will happen in this town don't worry. A friend of mine asked if I was going to follow the show and I don't know, at first, yes, but then I'm going to change thing like a lot, lmao. Anyway, the "flashbacks" will be in _italic_. I really hope you like it.

~oOo~

Four or five months had passed since Penny's death. The little community where Lena and Merle entered was growing more and more each month. Slowly, but still growing. Lena had become a woman of reference for everything. She was in charge of food, supplies, clothes etc. The women in the town really looked up to her for everything, even though some of them envied her for being an important person on Philip's "government" at her age. She even had convinced the Governor to let more women help, by keeping guard on the outskirts of town or going on supplies run eventually.

Lena rubbed her hands against each other, making friction in hope of getting them warm. She hated the cold more than anything. According to Karen's counting of days, it was supposed to be December, almost January by that time. She breathed while she ran her eyes trough the forest in front of her. It was only her keeping watch on that night at the principal gate, while everyone was celebrating the arrive of the 45th member of the community. It was growing dark, and she could still hear the talking, laughing and drinking of people at the park. She ran her fingers through her, now a little longer, hair and put her hands in her jacket pockets. She laughed, remembering the day that Merle gave it to her.

Ah, Merle. He had become a very important member to the small society. He always took care of everything when the Governor was "indisposed" to deal with things. People looked at him like he was a general and, most important, did everything he'd say. Merle had saved Lena's life more times than she could even remember.

_"You sure you're gonna be okay?" He asked her, grabbing her arm. _

_"Yeah, Merle, it's just medicine." She smiled at him and walked away. _

_Well, it happened that it wasn't just medicine. Several minutes later, he heard a scream coming from the back of the pharmacy. He ran in the direction of the medicine shelves and saw Lena fighting with a walker on the floor. Her gun was also on the floor but it was a few meters away from her. She tried to reach for it, but the walker was stronger and she was almost giving in. Merle ran toward her and stabbed the monster's skull with his bayonet, making its body going numb on top of her. She quickly sat, barely breathing and getting away from the walker and Merle. He watched her, as she looked at the dead with widened eyes, curling herself in a ball and putting her hands on her mouth, to avoid vomiting. Merle wondered if that was the first time that she had ever been in contact with a walker that close. Then something crossed his mind. He swallowed and licked his lips, catching a breath. _

_"Cherry?" He asked, standing up slowly. "Cherry, were you bit?"_

_Lena looked at him, tears filling her eyes and shook her head. Merle didn't believe her, of course. He walked towards her, grabbing her arm and making her whimper. He checked her for bites, but didn't find any. He sighed relief and looked at her face. The girl was crying now. _

Ah, great.

_Merle hated when girls cried in front of them. He didn't know what to do in that situation. He didn't know if he hugged her, or if he just patted her shoulder. But the thing was that seeing her cry like that killed him inside. He didn't know why. He approached her, a little awkward and wrapped his non metallic arm around her. She curled herself in his chest and buried her face on his neck, tears still falling from her eyes. _

_"There, there." Merle cooed, patting her back. _

Lena smiled at the memory. It had been their first hug. She still didn't know why she cried in that day; she believed that she was with the emotions messed up at the time. In the last three or four months, she had been experiencing some mixing feelings about Merle. She wasn't sure if she liked him as a friend or more than that. She looked at the ground, sighing, and thinking about it. All those men in Woodbury and she still was falling for Merle. She didn't know why. She just felt something and since then, she can't stop feeling that way.

Merle wasn't perfect, she knew that. He had his addictions, he constantly kept making sexist and racist comments, and he always flirted with the ladies at Woodbury (especially Lena). She wouldn't be surprised if he had sex with at least one woman in that town. But she couldn't help it.

"Cherry." Merle called her, from the street. His voice was calm and rough. Lena turned around and saw the man standing there, in the streets with Crowley by his side. Her heart skipped a beat when he gave her his remarkable grin. She smiled, looking down at them.

Truth was: lately, Merle also had been feeling something about her. He had been denying since that day when she yelled at him about something stupid. He didn't even remember anymore. But he did remember the way he felt. The way her eyebrows were furrowed and her mouth was just a thin line. He just wanted to grab her face and kiss her. And watching her there, standing on top of the truck, with a gun on her hand made the strange and not welcomed feeling appear again.

"Hi." She said. "How's the party?"

"It's great." He answered. "Just thought that maybe you could go there and enjoy a little of it."

"I can't, I volunteered to keep watch tonight." She answered, looking to outside of the town.

"That's why I brought Crowley. He agreed to replace you for the rest of the night." Merle smiled at her.

"Really?" She frowned, but didn't protest. She wanted to be in that party just as much as anyone. "Okay, then."

Merle watched her as she climbed down the stairs, while Crowley climbed up. It was dark already, and she shivered as the cold wind reached them.

"Ugh." She growled. "I hate winter."

Merle chuckled and they started to walk toward the park. They passed the headquarters, where Philip was standing at the porch. Both men looked at each other and have each a nod.

_"Can I ask you somethin'? Merle asked, putting down his glass of whiskey. _

_"Sure." Philip replied. _

_"Why do we kill who leaves?"_

_Philip stared at him for a moment trying to think of what to say. There was a moment of tense silence, and then he finally spoke. _

_"Do you value your life?" He asked him. Merle nodded, confused. "Let's say we someone pops out of the woods, looking for medical supplies and food. He's hurt; a bobcat attacked him while he was hunting, so he'll need a place to stay for a while. He doesn't intend to stay. He's a nice guy, laughs all the time, tells stories and we believe him. He stays for a while, gets to know the town. He learns every corner of this community. Eventually, we patch him up and let him go."_

_He made a pause to take a long sip of this beverage, and then kept talking. _

_"Weeks later he returns. With his group. They want our supplies. Now, in a normal situation, we'd deal with it easily. But there's one problem. He knows our town. He stayed for a while with us, laughed, told stories that we believed. Next thing we know, half of the town is dead and the other half will be soon."_

_Merle looked at him with a neutral expression. Inside, he was impressed with the little story his leader had told him. He thought of all the people in the town; the children, the women._

_Even though Merle didn't agree with that, he had to accept that the Governor was right. _

"Can I ask you why you did that?" Lena's voice snapped Merle to reality.

"Did what?" He asked, walking beside her in the cold, empty streets.

"Came to see me." She replied, looking at the streets. "Brought Crowley to replace me."

Merle shrugged. "Just wanted you to have some fun." He said, honestly.

"Oh." Lena said, after a few seconds in silence. Merle could see a smirk on her lips when he looked at her on the corner of his eye.

"What?" He asked and she shrugged, shaking her head, still with the smile on her face. "What?!" he stopped walking and looked at Lena who stopped too.

"You care about me." She said, turning to face him with a crocked smile.

Merle scoffed. "No, I don't."

"Yes you do!" She laughed. "Stop lying!"

"I ain't lying okay!" He started walking again, passing her by and going to the party.

"Keep telling yourself that!" She exclaimed at him, and then turned around, following him to party.

Merle turned around to face her, making her stop walking; the smile disappearing from her face when she saw his serious face.

"Sugar, you need to understand one thing." He said. "I'm not usually the one who cares about people."

Lena looked into his eyes and smirked. "Yeah." She whispered. "Keep fooling yourself."

The girl walked, passing him, leaving Merle with a confused look on his face and a memory on his mind.

"_You wanna put walkers on tonight's fight?!" Merle exclaimed, with eyes wide open. "You high, woman?!"_

_Lena nodded. "We can chain them!" She said, looking at the Governor. "And we take their teeth and nails off. It's just…" She looked at Martinez, who was leaned on the kitchen doorframe. He gave her a subtle nod, encouraging her. Of course she didn't agree with him, but he was right. "People are losing interest in our fights. We need to give them more action."_

_No one in the room answered her. Everyone was in shock, just like Martinez said they would be. _

"_Look I'll fight." She made a brief pause. "If something goes wrong, it's on me. I can even leave if someone gets bitten..."_

_Merle felt like someone just stabbed his heart. He couldn't let Lena leave. He couldn't track her down and kill her. He could do this with any other woman, but not her. Besides, letting her fight with someone surrounded by walkers? _

No fucking way.

_Even if the Governor allowed that stupid idea, he wouldn't let her fight. She became a really good fighter and he loved to watch her kick asses on the arena, but among walkers? _

I'm the one with the good stuff, and she's the one who's getting high.

"_Just one night." She begged. _

"_Who's gonna be the crazy one to fight with you?" Victor asked._

"_I will." Martinez said, making everyone look at him. _

_There was a silence, where everyone was waiting for their leader answer. _

"_Do you realize this is dangerous?" Philip asked, looking at the girl. Lena nodded, swallowing; her hands started to shake and she didn't know why, his eyes were terrifying in the moment. "You're gonna be the one to collect the walkers, then."_

_Lena looked at Martinez who gave her a thumbs up and she nodded at him. When everyone in the headquarters dispersed, Merle approached Lena, and talking in a very low tone with her._

"_Are you fucking crazy?" He asked._

_Lena looked at him, surprised with the seriousness on his face. She had never seen him like that, so serious, so mad._

"_We're gonna take the nails and the teeth off." Lena tried to explain, but Merle punched the bookshelf beside them, making a loud noise. Everyone in the room looked at them; Lena, who had jumped from the scare, grabbed his hands and took him to the outside of the house. She tried to reason with him, but he interrupted her._

"_Are ya onto somethin', girl?!" He exclaimed. "You been smoking some weed?! Because that was a stupid fucking idea, I don't know how the Governor accepted!"_

_He was yelling now. Lena didn't understand why he was being so rude to her. She frowned and asked,_

"_Why are you yelling at me?"_

"_What if you get bit, huh?!" He yelled, not stopping not look to the people that now were staring at her. "What if you die?!"_

"_Why the fuck are saying that?!" Lena raised her voice. "You don't even care!"_

_Merle were silent. _Why the fuck am I yelling with her, then?

"_You go to supplies run all the time and gets back covered in blood every time!" She shouted. "What if _you_ get bit?! What if YOU die?! You might not give a shit about me, but I care about you! You're the only one that actually knows about my past, Merle."_

_She kept yelling at him, but he didn't listen. The girl was right, why the fuck was he yelling at her. Was he… caring about her? _Well, shit. _He looked at her face and saw those angry lines on her forehead, her mouth, when not yelling, forming a thin line, the scar on her cheek. He was caring about her, or at least he was starting to._

"You and Merle got pretty close, huh?" Karen commented quietly to Lena.

Merle was right, the party was great. The children were still playing with each other and the adults were eating and drinking beer, talking to each other. The Governor had done a great job; they could just relax and forget what was happening outside the town.

"Well-" Lena answered. "We're friends."

Karen smiled. "I noticed that you always go on supplies run with him.

The girl flushed slightly. "Well, not always-"

"I mean it's nice of him, to approach you, after Evan-" She interrupted herself, after realizing she had talked too much. "I'm sorry."

Lena licked her lips and shook her head. "It's okay." She replied. "We weren't speaking much at the time."

_"Evan!" Lena yelled, running toward Evan who was being attacked by two walkers. She knew it was a bad idea to bring him together. She wanted to go to the little clothing store by her own, but he insisted to go with her. She didn't know why, after what he had said about Merle, weeks ago, he had been ignoring her. _

_She ran to the back of the store when she heard his scream. She ran as fast as possible, but didn't get there in time. She saw one of the walkers bite his neck, ripping out some flesh together. Blood splattered everywhere as the other walker bit his arm. Evan screamed so loud, that Lena felt her ears hurt a little. _

_"NO!" She screamed even louder, shooting the walkers with the gun that he had borrowed her in that morning. Her aim wasn't perfect, so she shot them twice or three times, until the walkers realize that there was another human in the place. They slowly stood up and stumbled toward her, but being killed right after by the same person. _

_Lena ran to Evan, who was drowning on his own blood. She knelt beside him and put his head on her knees, trying to ignore the fact that there was blood everywhere._

_"Lena." He struggled to talk. _

_"Shh, don't talk." She said, tears already filling her eyes. _

_"You-" He tried to breath. "You can keep my father's... Gun."_

_The girl nodded, crying. _

_"I... Always thought... You were beautiful..." He swallowed, his face turning pale from the blood lost. "But I've... I've seen the way... You look at Merle."_

_She frowned, shaking her head. "Don't say anything, it will hurt less."_

_Evan breathed a few times, trying his best to stay alive. But eventually, Lena watched as the last light of life disappeared from his blue eyes. She, then, cried. He had been her first friend on the town and now she had to shoot him in the head. He would have wanted that. _

_After a while sitting there, Lena stood up and saw the blood on her clothes and on the floor. She felt her breakfast coming back to her mouth and turned around quickly to vomit. _

_She wiped her mouth and pointed the gun to his head; closing her eyes shut, she pulled the trigger. _

Lena watched Merle talking and laughing with other people. They really loved him. Karen was right, though. Ever since Evan's death, Merle had approached Lena a little. They were already a bit close, but he started to talk to her every day, and not to ignore her when she asked about the supplies run. He even called her to go with him when he had to go to groceries stores to get food. The corner of her curved a little, when she saw him friendly punch Martinez in the shoulder.

"Is that a smile I see?" Karen whispered with a playful smile of her face.

"Karen, stop!" Lena whispered back. "We're just friends."

"Yeah, but I see in your face that you like him." Karen took a sip of her soda in her plastic cup. "All I'm saying is that you got close to him lately." Karen said, walking toward the food table.

Lena followed her and picked up a jerky from a bowl. She didn't care what it was made; she just shoved it in her mouth. It was cold, but her stomach didn't complain. She heard Merle laugh from distance and turned his head to see him. And there he was, with his metallic arm around Martinez shoulders, laughing about something stupid.

She scratched the scar on her right cheek and picked up another piece of jerky, eating right after. Doctor Stevens had removed the stitches three months ago, after the wound had healed. He was right; the knife had left a scar from her right ear to the corner of her mouth. She liked though. The kids looked at her like she was some kind of hero. But not like they looked at Merle of course. Merle was "the" hero that every kid at Woodbury wanted to be.

_"What happened to your hand?" Mika, a girl who had just arrived at the town, asked Merle, observing his metallic arm. _

_"It fell off." He answered with a grin on his face, making Lena's heart skip a beat. _

_"Why?" The blond girl frowned._

_"I dunno." He just shrugged. "I believe it's because I jerked off too much."_

_Lena widened her eyes and slapped him in his arm. Mika just frowned and tilted her head. _

_"What's jerking off?" She asked in the most innocent tone ever. Lena wanted to laugh but she contained herself. When Merle didn't answer, she spoke for him. _

_"Well, it's what you do when you're lonely." She said. Mika looked at the ground, still frowning. _

_"I feel alone sometimes." She said in a sad voice. Merle laughed and Lena widened her eyes again. _

_"No!" She exclaimed. "Uh... Only adults jerk off, sorry."_

_Mika was about to say something, but she was interrupted by another blonde girl, who called her from distance. _

_"Look, don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Lena said holding her arm. "Merle lost his hand in the war. He didn't jerk off, because he was never lonely. "_

_Mika nodded and ran away toward the blond girl. Lena looked at Merle who was still laughing and also laughed, leaning against the back of the park bench. They watched the kids play in silence for a while. _

_"People really like you here." She broke the silence, not looking at him. "Different from the people at the quarry camp you told me about."_

_Merle nodded. "Way different." He replied. _

_There was another silence. _

_"Do you think about your brother?" Lena said, after a while. _

_"Sometimes." He said. _

_"You think if you find him, you'd leave us?"_

_Merle went silent. He had thought about that already. Would he leave? Would he convince his brother to stay? The way that things were going, he'd find hard for Daryl to stay. He was family and Merle certainly didn't want him in danger. But then, there was Lena. There was always Lena. He tried not to growl when he thought of her. He was getting soft for her. He was starting to feel things that he'd never thought he would. _

_"I don't know." He finally answered. "Think I'd go where wherever he goes."_

_Lena finally looked at him, feeling her heart drop inside her chest. He was looking at the kids, waving and smiling at those who pointed at him, looking at his prosthesis. _

_"Would you leave me?" She whispered, in a very low tone. _

_He knew the answer, of course he did. He would have answered her, if it wasn't for the little boy that showed up in front of them, asking about Merle's arm. _

Merle came back to reality when he heard Martinez laugh once again. Poor Latino guy were already drunk. He spotted Lena at the food table, eating some jerky and talking to Karen. He could see on her face that the woman was upsetting her. Without saying a word, he walked toward them, trying to keep it casual; trying to look like he had no intentions of meeting both there. Karen stopped talking when she saw Merle approaching them. Lena looked to the ground as he reached behind her, getting a jerky from the bowl.

"You were right, the party is great." She said, smiling at him.

He leaned his hips on the table, facing her and chewing his food. "Darlin', when was I ever wrong?" He said, grinning.

She laughed under her breath. "Thank you for getting me there. I was starting to feel lonely."

Merle shrugged. "No problem." He replied.

"How did you convince Crowley to stay at my place?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he looked away to the crowd of people smiling and laughing. He didn't want to answer her, he was sure as hell she would start to see him as someone else.

_"Merle!" Lena called him from inside the walls of the town. He tried to ignore her, he really did. He kept_ _looking at the woods, like he was supposed to, but the girl didn't give up, calling him by the name she had called on the first day they met. _

_"Dixon!" She exclaimed. Merle let out a sigh and turned around to face her, with his famous 'I'm done' expression. "I think you'll wanna see this."_

_"Can't." The man replied. "I'm on my watch."_

_"Well... Crowley could replace you for a while." She shrugged. "C'mon, it's just a few minutes; I've got something to show you!"_

_Merle looked at Crowley, who shrugged, but eventually nodded. Merle sighed and left his gun on top of the truck, climbing down the stairs and following Lena. _

_She led him to an old building in the emptiest part of the town, and stopped, observing the structure. _

_"This is it?" Merle looked at the brick building. "An old building?"_

_Lena laughed briefly. "No." She grabbed his hand, pulling him inside. "C'mon, you'll see."_

_When they entered the building, Lena kept pulling Merle until they reached a two door entry, at the end of a hallway. Lena let go of his hand pushed the doors open and he saw the thing that most impressed him at that town. A big giant library. He ran his eyes through the place, looking at the countless shelves of books and the tables and chairs, the armchairs and the couches. _

_"Wow." He breathed. _

_Lena smiled at him. "I know." She said, grabbing his hand again. He fought the desire of flinch away from her, but then she laced her fingers in his. And he felt it. For the first time ever, he felt a stung of happiness in his heart. _

"Alright everybody!" Martinez's voice snapped him out of his thoughts again. And there he was, at the party, with Lena right by his side, still eating pieces of squirrel jerky. "You know how this works!"

Merle could hear the disappointment in people faces. The party was good, but it had to have an end. If they stayed for too long at the nights, walkers would listen to them or smell them.

"Curfew, everybody!" Merle yelled, helping the people to leave the party. "C'mon, everybody in their homes, without making noises!"

Bit by bit, the people left the party, leaving just the Governor's helpers at the place. Even Karen went home, however, Lena stayed. Ethan had told her that there was going to be a little after party, just for the government people. They headed to the headquarters and opened a box of beers, specially reserved for them. Lena sat on the floor, between Victor and Ethan, the only teenagers at the place; with her back leaned against the wall and legs crossed. Merle also sat on the floor, however, he leaned against the couch, facing Lena, with legs open and arms leaned on his knees. Ethan offered a beer to her, but she declined, saying that she didn't drink anymore.

"Oh, c'mon, Cherry." Merle said, when saw the scene. "We're still celebrating, have a drink."

She looked at him and he smiled at her.

"Okay." She took the beer from the boy's hand. "Maybe just one bottle."

There were talking at the living room, which the topic was changed almost every time.

"Big fight tomorrow, huh." Martinez said, looking at Merle.

_"You gotta grow up!" Martinez yelled at Lena's face. "You gotta hit me, or I kill you!"_

_The girl breathed and wiped the sweat off her face. _

_"No more softness." He kept yelling. "You gotta be tough, or you won't survive."_

_Lena swallowed, trying to focus of his face. She took a deep breath and tried to punch him but he dodged it, smiling and mocking her. She sweat was dripping in her face and she could feel the ends of her hair, which was tied up in a ponytail, touching and sticking on her neck. There was a moment where she thought she was going to pass out._

_If it wasn't for the kids. _

_There were two little boys, watching her training and both of them kept whispering to each other, making bets on who was going to win._

"_You can do it, Lena!" One of them yelled at them, making both adults look at the kids._

"_Yeah, punch him in the face!" The other one yelled too, standing up from his seat._

_Lena took advantage of the situation and punched Martinez in the face, breaking his nose. The man fell on the ground with his hands on his nose. The two little boys cheered, making Lena smile._

_Everyday there were children watching Lena train with Martinez. Each day, there was more and more of them. Eventually, some adults started showing up to watch them fighting. Philip realized that maybe they needed some entertainment, to get distracted. People liked it. It was fun._

"Okay, let's play a game." Martinez said to everyone. "Everyone say what they miss most from the normal world. Starting with me." He smiled. "I miss shrimp." He pointed a finger to Jacob. All the men started to say what they missed most, and Lena wasn't really paying attention. She kept looking at Merle, who also looked at her sometimes. Whenever that happened, she would look away quickly.

"Merle?" Martinez asked, getting his attention.

Merle shrugged and then chuckled.

"Bein' honest." He looked to Lena. "I miss some action, if y'all know what I mean."

Lena's cheeks turned a bit red and her heart raced. She didn't hear what the others said, she just thought about the look he gave her. She knew that look. That lust look. Did it mean that he wanted something with her? He wanted to have just sex with her? He wanted something more than that?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Ethan's voice calling her. She realized all the men there were looking at her, waiting for her answer.

"Uh…" She said, shaking her head. "Movies. I miss going to the movies."

~oOo~

Merle sat on his couch, rubbing his face, sighing. The alcohol made him a little dizzy, but nothing he couldn't support. He thought about the after party and asked himself why he looked at Lena when he said he was missing sex. Part of him wanted to have sex with her, of course. But she was just a kid. Only twenty or twenty-one years old.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. Without complaining, he stood up and walked toward it, opening it. Lena ran to inside the apartment and closed the door behind her. He looked at her frowning, confused.

"It's cold." She said, breathing nervously.

Only then, Merle saw she was wearing just a thin pink robe on her body.

"Cherry-" He started to talk, but she interrupted him.

"Shut up." She ordered. "Don't talk or I'll lose the courage."

She took a deep breath and untied the knot on her robe, opening it and letting the thin fabric run on her skin and fall on the ground.

And there, right in front of him, he saw the most beautiful feminine body ever. Completely naked; he ran his eyes all over her, not even worrying with hiding it.

"Lena. " He started saying. "What the fuck-"

"You said you were missing some action." She put a hand on his chest, making him walk backwards and sit on the couch.

Carefully, she sat on his lap with legs open and leaning her knees on the couch. She hooked her arms around his neck and leaned to his ear, whispering:

"It made me realize that I miss it too."

Merle breathed, trying to contain himself. He couldn't deny, the girl was creating a reaction on him and sooner or later, he would have to do something about it.

"Cherry." He breathed once more.

Lena pressed her lips against his, and he couldn't help it anymore. He kissed her back, starting slow at first, and becoming more urgent after. Then he felt it again. And she felt it again: the feeling that both were experiencing in the last few months, confirming their feelings for each other.

The familiar sensation started in Lena's stomach and went down to the middle of her legs. She moaned as Merle ran his hands on her back, sending shivers on her skin; the cold metal of his other arm, touching her right thigh. Merle could feel the hunger growing inside of him; he wanted her, he wanted her all for him. He ran his hands on her belly, moving up to cup her breasts. They continued to kiss each other; Lena ran her hands on his hand, on his neck, on his shoulders. When she tried to take his jacket off, he pulled away from her, putting his hand on the side of her thigh.

"Darlin', if you start this." He said, looking in her eyes. "I won't hold myself."

She looked right in his eyes, deep in his soul, and answered,

"Then don't."


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N:**_ I wrote a little bit about Rick's group in this chapter. I always wanted to know what happened when they got out of the farm, if they were okay, if they were scared, so I decided to write my own version of it. It's just a little bit though. Anyway, let me know if you liked the fast-forward on the last chapter. Send me your reviews and PM's, your opinion is very important to me (:

~oOo~

Rick sighed, rubbing his face and sitting between Beth and Carol, on the small campfire. Everyone was tired from another day running from the dead and searching for a new place to stay. The air was cold and the sky was growing dark fast. T-Dog was keeping watch as always, Daryl was cooking a few squirrels on the fire, Hershel was hugging Beth and comforting her as always, Lori was staring at the fire, with a hand on her belly. Rick stared at her and then to her belly. It was starting to show more and more each day. He thought about Shane; he thought horrible things about him and Lori together. Part of him knew they had an affair, but the other part didn't want to accept it. And then she told him.

"_Shane and I."_

Only the memory of that moment made him mad. Made him confused. He felt like he was going to lose it; he could feel the insanity coming. When Lori's green eyes met his, he looked away to the fire. He tried to think of anything else; the overrun farm, Andrea staying behind, Sophia coming out of the barn. Then, Lena crossed his mind. The girl he hadn't thought about in months entered his mind without invitation. He thought about her in the first days after the roof. He thought about her after the CDC. But then he stopped thinking about her. He stopped caring about what happened to her. He wasn't sure when, but he did at some point.

Coincidentally, Glenn was also thinking about the girl. He thought about how stupid he was for having a crush on a girl he saw for one or two hours. He wondered if she were alright; if she were alone.

"What you're thinking about?" Maggie asked, looking at his boyfriend and making everyone look at them.

The Asian boy looked at her and grabbed her hand, lacing them together before answering.

"I was remembering the day I met Lena."

Rick was the only one who looked up at him. Maggie and the others frowned in silence, wondering who Lena was.

"Who's Lena?" Glenn's girlfriend asked, a little jealous.

"A girl who slapped me in the face to make me save Rick." He laughed.

"Wasn't the girl who stayed with Merle in Atlanta?" Lori asked and everyone went silent.

"Who's Merle?" Beth asked, innocently.

Rick could hear T-Dog snorting from distance.

"My brother." Daryl replied the girl, taking the squirrels off the fire.

"What happened to them?" The blonde girl spoke again, after a while.

Everybody was silent. Rick didn't want Daryl to start another fight over his brother. He wasn't afraid of the redneck; he was just tired and didn't want to deal with fights at the moment. But for his surprise, Daryl spoke when nobody did.

"They stayed behind, in a roof, back in Atlanta." He said.

Beth widened her eyes. "Why?!" She asked incredulous.

Daryl looked at Rick, who eyed the redneck back. The former deputy opened his mouth to answer the teenage girl, but Daryl spoke before him.

"He was bein' a jackass." He looked to the girl. "Rick did the right thing and handcuffed him there. The girl… She had enough heart to stay with him. When we got back, they were gone."

The group fell silent again. Beth thought about "the girl". She wondered how old was she, noticing that both Glenn and Daryl had called her girl and not woman. She wondered how much of a jackass this Merle was, and wondered if she would stay with him. She wondered how she looked like; she imagined a strong, beautiful tall girl, with perfect hair, taking care of a man looked like Daryl handcuffed on a roof. She let her imagination flow; she didn't care if she looked like a child.

Rick mentally thanked Daryl for understanding. He didn't mean to let them both there. He really didn't. He hoped that someday, if he met her again, he hoped that she'd understand. He hoped that she was safe. He hoped that she found a place to stay and that she was safe. He was truly sorry for what he did.

But if he met Merle again, then it would be a different story.

~oOo~

Lena opened her eyes and felt a really uncomfortable pain on her back. She blinked a few times, facing the pillow and realized where she was. Slowly, the memories of the last night started to get in her mind and she smiled. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Merle's bedroom.

_Smells like shaving cream and soap._

She turned on her back, looking at her ceiling and stretching. She let out a loud yawn and only then, saw Merle sitting on the edge of the bed, already dressed, and trying to lace his shoes on his own. She remembered the way she felt in the night before. She remembered the touches, the kisses, the moans. She remembered every single detail of that night. She smiled when he looked over his shoulder, looking first at her face, and then to her exposed chest.

"Good, you're awake." He said, looking back to his shoes. "We're late." He didn't look at her. He didn't want to look at her; he didn't want to remember what he did to her, he was embarrassed.

_Jesus Christ, it's just another girl, like any other. Man up._

She sat on her bed, smirking at him in silence. He looked over his shoulder; she was smiling at him, wanting him to say something, anything about the night before. The man swallowed and turned his torso to face her. Without saying a word, she leaned towards him, approaching him. Once she was near him, inches from his face, he put his hand on her shoulder, making her sit down again.

"Look, Cherry." He said, sighing. "I appreciate what you did for me last night." He paused and she smiled, opening her mouth to say something, but he kept talking.

"But I was kinda drunk. Don't remember most of it." Lena's smile disappeared from her face. There was an awkward silence, while she felt her heart drop inside her chest. Her eyes wanted to shed tears, but she didn't allow herself to cry in front of him.

"Yeah, I-" She said, with a soft voice, shrugging and trying to smile. "I was… I was drunk too."

Merle smiled. "Alright." He quickly put his hand on the side of her face and stood up. "Now dress up, will ya?" He grinned at her. She smiled lightly and watched him leave the room.

She fought the tears and stood up, also leaving the room. Merle was in the kitchen, so walked quickly toward the living room, where her robe lay on the floor.

"I- I'm gonna be a little late!" She said, putting the robe on and fighting the lump that was forming on her throat. "Can you tell the Governor, please?"

"Sure, darlin'!" She heard Merle's voice, coming from the kitchen and left his apartment.

He sighed, pinching his nose and closing his eyes. Of course he remembered last night. He remembered everything, he wasn't that drunk. He remembered every single detail, including the way he felt with her. He had never felt like that with any other woman. It wasn't just sex, it was something more. More than just pleasure.

_Shit, girl's gonna hate me now._

But he couldn't. He couldn't get soft for her, for anyone. Dixons weren't soft, they were tough guys. He didn't want to accept the fact that _he cared about her. _

In the moment Lena closed the door behind her, at her apartment, she didn't fight anymore. She let the tears fall from her eyes, leaning against the door and sliding down, sitting on the floor.

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. _

She didn't know how long she sat there, crying her eyes out. Her heart ached. For the first time, since her parents' death, she could felt happy again, but only to be completely shattered. By one thing. By something so stupid. She hugged her arms, feeling a little sore. She rubbed the light purple bruises on them and remembered the cold of his metal arm, hurting her a little, but nothing compared to what she was feeling in that moment. She closed her eyes, feeling the tears streaming down her face, and took a deep breath.

_Should've had stayed quiet on my corner._

She stood up and went to her bedroom, avoiding looking in the mirror; she was sure there were more marks on her body. She opened the wardrobe door, taking a pair of leggings, sports bra and a fitness shirt. She didn't grab her leather jacket, but the sweater she use to wear when jogging and her sneakers. Putting her hair in a high ponytail, she tried to look in the mirror. The clothes were covering the marks on her body, but she eyes still looked a little red. She sighed, trying not to cry again and left her apartment.

The air was even colder than before. Lena saw the children already playing in the park; a smile on the face of each one of them. She walked through the town, trying to forget about her situation for a moment.

It was clear now. Clear as crystal; she was in love with Merle Dixon.

~oOo~

"There you go, princess." Philip said, after making a bow with the ribbon in his daughter's hair. Penny struggled to get rid of the strait jacket she was in and growled in response. "I know it's not like your mom used to do, but I tried my best."

He was sitting in his arm chair, on his "special room"; Penny's corpse was starting to stink and decompose. The skin around its lips was starting to peel, with black blood dripping of it. Philip insisted in wiping it every time. Its nails were growing faster, but her father cut them too. There were a few red marks around its eyes, and he didn't understand why, but he decided to ignore them.

Philip turned Penny around to her face her. He tried to ignore the smell and the skin peeling; he smiled at her daughter's corpse. The undead tried to reach for him, moving its arms, trying to get rid of the strait jacket, but the Governor was stronger than her.

"Penny, what we talked about trying to bite daddy?"

The walker growled in response, still trying to get a piece of flesh of the human staring her.

"Penny!" Philip exclaimed. "I said no biting daddy!"

He turned her around and walked her to the cage which was in the corner of the room.

"I'm sick and tired of your ingratitude!" He raised his voice. "Look what I did for you!" He pointed to the heads on the fish tanks. He picked up the chain from the floor and chained her to the wall. After covering her head with the white sack, he closed the cage door and left the room, making sure to lock it after closing the door.

He sat on his chair, in front of his desk and opened his notebook, picking up his pen and drawing little lines on each line on the paper. In a diagonal way, from the right to the left, four lines. Then again, in a diagonal way, from the left to the right, four lines. It helped him. It helped him to keep him sane. He had to. In a world like that, anyone could succumb to madness, it wasn't rare. He blamed it on the loneliness. Not on the walkers, not the on others threatening groups, but on the loneliness. Even being surrounded by people at Woodbury, sometimes he felt lonely. With his wife gone and Penny being… "Out of herself", he felt lonely. Before the outbreak, he always used to travel to business; he had visited a lot of places. There wasn't one state on America that he didn't know. He even had visited the United Kingdom and a few other places in Europe. His favorite place was France. He remembered he went with his wife before Penny was born. Now, he wasn't able to travel the world like he always wanted. He had to stay in that stupid town, dealing with people that didn't even know how to defend themselves.

He turned the page of his notebook, and kept drawing the lines.

~oOo~

"You're quiet." Karen said from the driver's seat. "You usually talk on the car."

Lena shrugged. "Just thinking." She replied.

"Hangover?" The older woman looked at her, smiling a bit.

"Yeah." She lied.

There was a silence before Lena spoke again.

"Karen, you're..." She interrupted herself, almost making the mistake of calling her _old. _"Experienced."

Karen frowned, looking at the road. "Yeah... Why?"

"Have you ever... Had sex with a guy and he dumped you?"

"Yeah, of course." Karen shrugged. "Who didn't?" She laughed a bit.

"Well, how did you deal with it?"

Karen made a pause to think in what to say. "Usually, they were all men I didn't know-"

"What if you sex with someone that you're really close." Lena interrupted the woman. "And you realize that you have feelings for him... But he doesn't feel the same about you. How would you deal with it?"

Karen frowned, looking at the girl. "Lena." She said, looking back at the road and smiling. "Do you have boy problems?"

"What- No!" Lena lied once more. "I'm just curious."

Karen busted into laugh, making Lena a little uncomfortable with the situation. Karen was the last person the girl wanted to know about the night she had with Merle. The woman laughed until a small tear join the corner of each eye and then sighed, still smiling.

"Who'd fuck last night?" She asked, without even looking at Lena.

The girl widened her eyes in surprise; she never heard Karen talk like that. The kids loved her and they were always around her, so she had to watch her language. But there weren't any kids with her right now, so she could say what she wanted.

"No one!" Lena exclaimed, with a little high pitched voice.

"Oh, come on, you can tell me!"

"I didn't hook up with anyone, okay?!" Lena raised her voice, done with the conversation. _Why the hell did I agree with coming with her?_

"Okay, calm down." Karen shrugged. "Whoever it is, he's not worth your time."

Lena frowned and looked at the woman. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're a strong woman. You can fight the dead and even the alive ones. I mean, come on! You knocked out that boy on the last fight."

"Victor?" Lena asked, remembering the night where she and the blonde kid had to fight at the arena. She ended up with one or two broken fingers but knocked him out compensate. "He's just a seventeen year old kid, he wouldn't stand a chance with me."

"And he will forever be mocked by the fact he lost to a girl- To a woman in a fight." Karen smiled, then shook her head. "The point is, you don't need a man right now. You're our leader, the woman we all wanna be. You don't need no man, he will just get in the way of who you are."

Lena looked at Karen, thinking about her words. She was surprise that the woman looked at her in that way. The girl thought Karen only looked at her as some messed up girl.

But then again, Merle helped her. Saved her. Taught her many things. He helped her finding herself again and he didn't even know that. He was worth her time. It didn't matter if he didn't feel the same thing. She couldn't give up on him. She couldn't.

_But what if he helped me to become who I am?_

~oOo~

Merle smoked his cigarette in silence while he watched the others pull the walkers off the hole. It had been so much time since he smoked a cigarette that he had forgotten how good it felt. He sighed trying to think of something else than Lena. The girl didn't leave his mind since last night. He felt a stung on his heart when remembering the look on her face when he dumped her. Sadness. It was all he could think of. Lena was usually the one who cheered him up; it didn't matter how many times he called her stupid, crazy or even the nice nicknames like Sugar Cube, or Cherry, she didn't care. She always put a smile on her face and laughed like he had just told her a joke.

"Merle!" Martinez yelled. "Get over here!"

Merle threw his cigarette away and walked toward them, in silence. He helped them to remove the nails and teeth from the walkers. After putting them on the van, Merle sat on the passenger seat and stared at the field. The rest of the group was sharing a bottle of water and a pot cigarette, but Merle wasn't paying attention to them. He didn't even realize they were smoking weed until Martinez appeared to offer it to him. He, obviously, accepted it.

"You seem weird today." Martinez commented taking the pot from Merle's hands once the older man gave it back to him. Merle didn't answer. "What, you're worried I'm gonna kick your ass tonight?"

Merle chuckled lightly. "Ya wish." He said. "Just had a hard night."

Martinez also chuckled and stared at field in silence. "You know I got lay last night?" he said with a smile on his face. This time, Merle actually looked at him raising his eyebrows.

_You and I both, pal._

"Really?" he said, chuckling. "And how was the crazy one this time?"

"You know Karen, Lena's partner?"

Merle stared at Martinez for a few seconds, frowning and giving him an incredulous look. "No shit!" he exclaimed. "The Cougar?"

Martinez laughed, passing the weed to the redneck. "Y'know, she's not so old in the bed."

Merle snorted. "Yeah, right."

"It's true!" Both men laughed.

Eventually, all of them packed up and got back to the town. After putting the walkers on their place, they came back to the headquarters, where Lena and Karen were unloading the truck from the run they had.

For a brief moment, Merle's eyes met Lena's and for slip of second they stared at each other; a part of him, his gut, which he always trusted, was telling him to turn around and leave the girl alone. But the other part- The bigger part of him wanted to go over she was and apologize. He didn't know how to do it, he never did. When he use to fuck up with Daryl (the only person worth of an apologize) a simple nod, or a nudge on the shoulder was enough for him. Not for Daryl, of course, but it was enough for Merle. And he was 110% sure that a nod wasn't going to be enough for Lena. The way he dumped her in that morning… He wasn't even sure if she was going to forgive him.

"_Come on, man, get your ass over there."_

Daryl's voice echoed in his mind and he slightly frowned. He was never influenced by his brother's words or acts. And now, he was hearing things. He didn't know why. Maybe it was the weed.

"_Yeah, blame it on the weed." _He heard Daryl's voice once more. _"It doesn't change the fact you have to apologize to her."_

_Get out of my head, baby brother._

But then, Lena's lips formed a tiny smile. Just the corner of the right side of her mouth curved a little and Merle's heart skipped a beat.

_Well, shit._

He could feel it. He _really_ was getting soft for her. The way she looked at him, like if he hasn't just broke her heart just that morning; that smile, a tiny one, but still. His heart filled with joy when he looked at her like that. Or in any way. Even when his gut was telling him to get away from her, he found himself approaching her, with a grin on his face. The feeling of guilt had now abandoned him and all he could feel was the beats of his heart, pumping inside his chest. It was like he needed her, like he needed to have a moment of conversation with her or something. Maybe he _was _high.

"Cherry." He heard the sound of his own voice calling her.

Lena grinned. "Merle." She replied, trying to pick up a heavy box from the truck.

"Need any help?"

"Nope." Lena replied, trying to lift a box, which was too heavy for her, from the truck. Seeing her struggle, Merle walked over the truck and pulled the box easily, like it was nothing to him, putting it on the floor. Lena couldn't deny she was impressed; the guy only had one hand.

"See?" She said, looking at box and panting. "Easy as pie."

Merle chuckled and she laughed, forgetting for just a moment her broken heart. But then she looked at him again. And she felt a twinge of pain on her heart. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Not in front of him, not in front of anyone. Merle opened his mouth to say something, but Karen showed up to pick more stuff from the truck.

"Do you mind getting these inside and getting started?" Lena asked, in a quiet voice. Karen just nodded and picked the box from the floor and took it inside the headquarters.

"Cherry, I-" Merle started to say, once they were alone again.

"Well." She interrupted him, trying not to look at his face. "I'm going to hit the gym." She looked to the streets, toward the gym. "Get ready for next week." Then she finally looked at him and tried to smile. Tried. And then he saw it on her eyes. _Broken._ "You should get ready too. Big fight tonight."

Giving him a forced smile, she turned around and walked quickly toward the gym. Merle thought about going after her, but he just didn't. He just stood there, watching her leave and he didn't know why.

"_You lost your chance, man."_

"Shut up, Daryl." He mumbled to himself.

~oOo~

Lena was running in the treadmill for over an hour now. Whenever she got tired, she would slow down, but never stopped. She knew it wasn't allowed to walk on it for more than half an hour, but no one was there to expel her. She just needed a distraction. She sounds of her footsteps echoed the place while she breathed heavily and were covered in sweat. Once in a while, a few tears were shed, but it was okay for her as long as no one saw them.

She'd run on the device, until her legs hurt and then she'd kept running. When she'd felt like she was going to fall, she'd slow the machine and walk quickly on it. She kept making this ritual losing count of how many times she slowed down.

"Hey." She heard a voice from behind her and pressed the buttons on the treadmill to slow the velocity down. Martinez showed up in front of her, showing her a bottle of water.

"Thought you might want this." He said, giving the water to her. She grabbed the bottle and opened it, not realizing how thirsty she was.

"Thanks." She said. "Aren't you supposed to be on training now?"

"I already trained." He replied, leaning on the treadmill and pushing a button to stop it. Lena opened her mouth to complain, but Martinez spoke before her. "An hour ago."

Lena frowned, panting from the run; sweat dripping down her face, neck and back. "What?" She asked confused.

"You're running for two hours, Lena."

She shook her head, still frowning and trying to think straight. "No…" She said quietly.

"Yes." He sighed. "And it better be the last time, or you're gonna end up hurting yourself."

"I'm sorry, I just-" She took a deep breath. "I didn't see the time."

He chuckled. "Been distracted?"

Lena looked down and nodded, answering really quietly. "Yeah."

"You okay?" Martinez frowned.

"Yeah." Lena answered too quickly, grabbing her coat and stepping out of the treadmill. "I'm fine." She tried to smile, walking to the door, but Martinez held her arm, holding her in place.

"Hey." He said. "You're not okay."

Martinez knew Lena really well at this point. He knew when she was happy, angry, frustrated or sad. He spent too much time training her to know when she's lying. The girl just shrugged and then sighed, feeling the tears fill her eyes.

"You don't really care." She said, with a lump on her throat.

"You're my best fighter." He smiled. "Of course I care."

Lena just stared at man for a moment, deciding if she would tell him about Merle and her feelings, about he dumped her like it easy just to have sex with a girl and toss her out after. A single tear trickled down her face and she knew she had to go, or she'd start crying in front of him. Gently, she grabbed Martinez's hand and took it off her arm.

"But he doesn't." She whispered, turning around and running to the door.

Martinez called her and tried to catch her again, but she was already in her building. She ran up the stairs, jumping the steps as fast as possible. She heard someone call her name again, but she didn't turn around.

She was getting tired of crying her eyes out for Merle. So, as soon as she closed her apartment door, she held her tears and marched to the bathroom. She turned the bath tub tap on and started to strip; the sweat of her workout made the clothes sticky and hard to take it off. Lena looked herself in the mirror and her eyes got filled with tears.

She ran her fingertips through the marks on her arms, the bites on her neck, the little purple spots on her cleavage. The tears streamed down her cheeks and she closed her eyes; the memories invading her mind, bringing back the sensation of his skin against hers, the sound of his breathing, his sweaty body pressed against hers.

Lena put her hair down and stepped into the bathtub, turning the tap down. She let herself relax in the warm water and closed her eyes, trying to forget. But she simply couldn't. She couldn't forget the way she felt. She remembered Merle's touch. She remembered the feeling.

And she knew. She was 100% sure that Merle felt the same way. She didn't know how, she just did. She felt the tears filling her eyes again and dove in the warm water of the tub.

~oOo~

Merle took a seat on the male's dressing room of the arena. It was already dark and everybody was outside, waiting for the fighters. But his head wasn't on the fight. He was thinking of Lena again.

"_You're feeling guilty." _Daryl echoed on his mind. Merle just shook his head. "_You are. It's called a feeling, y'know." _

Merle let out a low growl and shook his head again, pinching his nose.

"_I'm surprise you even have feelings for her-"_

"I don't have feelings for her." Merle mumbled.

"_I mean I didn't know you capable of feeling somethin'-"_

"Shut the fuck up!" Merle exclaimed getting up and looking at the room. He was getting nuts. The feeling of guilt was driving him crazy. He had to apologize to Lena. He took a deep breath, feeling a little dizzy and sat again.

It didn't take long until Martinez and the others boys came in the dressing room. He pretended everything was fine with him.

In the moment he entered the arena, all the people started to chant his name. He smiled and raised his arms, hearing they scream even louder. Lena was at the front row as always; watching the fighters pretending they were celebrities for a little. She didn't blame them, everyone was looking for a little bit of attention those days. She tried to focus on the others fighters when Merle showed up smiling and raising his arms.

~oOo~

"Hey, where are you going?" Karen asked when Lena got up from her seat and started to get away from her. "We're halfway the second time, Merle is winning!"

"Gotta pee." She replied without looking at her.

She didn't wait for a reply and got out of the row, trying to pass the kids and other people who seemed to be enjoying the show. She just wanted to be alone. Tucking her hands in her pockets, she walked quickly around the arena, trying to leave. Merle noticed the girl with a serious look in the face, going away.

"_You're going to miss her." _

Merle growled and turned his back to the fight again. Lena left the arena and walked through the silent streets at Woodbury. She passed the gym, her building and the infirmary, until she finally reached her destiny: the headquarters. The door was open, like always, and she easily entered the house. It seemed so weird, so empty and quiet without the guys inside. She entered the kitchen and walked towards the liquor cabinet, already taking her baseball bat from the corner where she always left when she heard a rough voice coming from behind her.

"You're going to rob this place, Cherry?"

Then she froze in her place. Her heart skipped a beat and she almost dropped the bat. She didn't turn around, she didn't want to face him. She couldn't pretend everything was fine once more.

"Maybe." She replied really quietly.

He approached her, slowly; only the sounds of his boot hitting the floor on the place. Lena stood still and Merle got closer to her; so close that she could feel his breath on her neck. She instantly closed her eyes, waiting for a scolding, but he didn't say anything. He just grabbed her shoulder and made her turn around to face him. Her brown eyes met his blue ones and he took a deep breath.

"_Just breathe, big brother."_

_Now's not the time, Darlena._

"_Hey, I'm just trying to help ya."_

"Did you win the fight?" Lena asked seeing the sweat on his skin, interrupting Merle's mental battle with his "brother".

"Guess I just lost it." He shrugged a bit.

"Why?"

"Had to leave. Wanted to say somethin' to ya."

Lena looked at his chest, feeling her heart explode inside her own. Would he…?

"Am I that important?" She whispered, with her eyes still on his chest. "Couldn't it wait?"

His fingers tips touched her chin, lifting her face to look at him. "It couldn't."

He suddenly closed the space between them, pressing his lips against hers. She dropped her baseball bat, making a loud thud in the place. He placed his hand on her waist, pulling her closer to him. He needed that, he needed her close to him. She hooked her arms behind his neck, getting on tiptoe, not really minding about the moist on his skin and kissing him back.

"Been thinking about last night." He breathed on her mouth.

"Me too." She replied, after a while, still with her mouth on hers. The feeling both had felt on the night before came back and hit them like a train. Merle's heart started to beat faster; he felt like it was going to explode. It wasn't like last night. Last night he had a sexual hunger for her, he craved her body with his; but this night… This night was different. He just wanted to be with her, it didn't matter how.

"_Never thought you could have feelings, brother."_

Daryl's voice echoed once more in his mind and he immediately froze. Lena separated their mouths and frowned at him; her heart still beating hard.

"What?" She asked a little afraid.

Merle let go of her waist and tried not to look at her. He grabbed her hand, making her let go of his neck. He cleaned his throat and looked at her; tears already filling her eyes.

"I uh… Came to apologize." He managed to say. He looked at her mouth which was forming a thin line and he knew it was coming. She was going to say something he wouldn't like. Looking down at her, he just waited for the moment he would regret for a long time.

"What are you so afraid of, Merle?" She whispered, a crack on her voice, a lump forming on her throat.

He just looked at her, trying to keep the serious expression he always had.

"_Attachment."_

"Just go away." She said, bending over to grab her baseball bat.

He turned around to go, but stopped walking. "You do what you want to." He said. "I won't tell anyone." Then, he started walking again, ignoring the sound of glass breaking when he left the house.


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N:**_ Ayyyy, my first smut. I'm so happy, I think it turned out pretty great. I had a little help from my friend Stacey from tumblr, she's awesome and I owe her a lot. So yeah, I hope you like it. I'm so excited, yay. Also, this chapter may be a little disturbing for a while. I'm fucked up, sorry.

~oOOo~

"Karen, do you know why Lena's not here yet?" The Governor asked the woman in front of the headquarters where there was a tiny crowd gathered. It was a cold morning and the people were up early to do the same routine as usual.

"Uh, no." The woman replied, with her clipboard in hands. "I actually haven't seen her since the fight last night. Why, what happened?"

"Someone stole the liquor cabinet." He pointed and shrugged. "Probably one of the teenage boys, but her baseball bat is missing."

"Oh." Karen frowned. Lena never was late for a meeting. Lena was never late for nothing. "That's weird. Want me to call her, sir?"

"No, that's okay, you do what you have to do." Philip shook his head. "I'll call her myself."

Karen nodded and got away from the leader. Philip watched his boys getting their guns and going to the walls. He saw Merle giving them orders and saw everyone obeying him. He really didn't know what he'd do without him. But if Merle was here, then where was Lena?

"Gonna go on a run." Merle said to him. "We need more ammo."

Philip looked at Merle and nodded, still thinking.

"You okay?" The older man asked his leader.

"Yeah, I just… Need to find out who stole our booze."

Merle chuckled. "You bring him to me." he chuckled a little more. "The liquor thief."

Philip laughed too, and watched him walk toward the car. He, then, decided to see if Lena was okay; he didn't know why, but he had this feeling on his stomach telling him something was wrong. Without telling anyone, Philip walked toward the building Merle and Lena lived; always saying hi, smiling and greeting the citizens

"Lena?" He asked, after knocking on her door. There was no answer, so he touched the doorknob and realized the door was open.

Calling her name once more, he entered slowly on the apartment, immediately noticing two empty bottles of wine on the table. He frowned and looked at the kitchen, where another empty bottle– of vodka this time – standing on the balcony. He also noticed that the living room floor was covered in broken glass. He asked himself where the girl could have found that many beverages, then he connected the dots. Lying on her sofa was her baseball bat.

_Lena is the liquor thief?_

"Lena? It's the Governor." He called her. No answer. He walked through the broken pieces of glass, making loud noises echo over the place; he checked the bedroom, which was a mess, full of clothes on the floor, the dresser also on the floor. He moved on to the bathroom, whose door was ajar. He slowly pushed it open and saw Lena, lying on the floor, passed out. It wasn't until he saw the broken mirror that he realized a huge piece of it, craved on the inside of her forearm. He ran to her to see her pale face; her mouth with a little of vomit on the corner. He tried to wake her up by shaking her, but the girl was already passed out for a long time. He saw her forearm and the blood that was coming off the wound. It wasn't much, but he knew if he moved the mirror, it wouldn't be good. He hooked an arm around her back and the other behind her knees, lifting her up.

It looked like a movie scene. The hero saving the damsel from a horrible fate, in slow motion. Except that Philip was no hero and Lena wasn't his damsel. The few people that were on the streets looked horrified with the scene; seeing Philip carrying an almost dead girl through the streets of Woodbury.

"Alice! Stevens!" He yelled when he arrived on the infirmary.

"Oh, my God." Alice gasped when saw Lena.

Stevens ran and took a moving bed from the corridor, making Philip to lay her there.

"What happened?!" The doctor asked, as he touched her neck to see if she was still alive.

"Found her like this." The Governor breathed. "I think she tried to kill herself… But passed out first? I found a lot of empty bottles in her apartment."

"She could be in an alcoholic coma." Stevens mumbled.

"It's a good thing you didn't removed the piece of glass." Alice said, pushing the bed toward a room. They walked quickly, almost running, through the hallway.

"We're gonna need glucose." Dr. Stevens said to a girl who volunteered to help them. "And fast! Or else, she'll die."

They entered an empty room and Alice picked up the tools that they'd need to stitch her arm. Dr. Stevens turned the equipment on, making sure to put a sort of clip in Lena's index finger. For a moment, all of them stood still, waiting for a beep on the monitor indicating that she was still alive. Dr. Stevens sighed in relive when he heard the noise. Right after that, the volunteer from earlier entered the room holding a transparent sac of serum and a small bottle. Stevens made a tourniquet on Lena's left arm, while Alice prepared the syringe. Philip watched, nervously, the sweat streaming down the side of his face, while Stevens applied the glucose on Lena's vein.

"You!" Stevens pointed to the girl, who was still there, waiting for instructions. "What's your name?"

"H-Haley." She stammered.

"Haley, I need you to get two bottles of rubbing alcohol, can you do that for me?"

Haley nodded and got out of the room, rushing.

"What now?" Philip asked.

"We wait." The doctor answered. "The glucose will make her glycemic rate rise, so she'll be okay. Probably puke a lot when wake up."

"What about her arm?" The leader pointed to her arm and then put his hands on his hips.

"I'm gonna stitch it now, she'll be okay."

Philip nodded, breathing heavily, still in shock. "I'll just… Wait outside."

Stevens nodded and turned to face Lena. Philip ran his hands through his face and sighed.

~oOo~

"What's all the confusion about?" Merle asked to the first woman he saw when he got out of the truck. It happened to be Martinez's cougar.

"Oh." Karen looked at the tiny crowd in front of the infirmary, a few meters away from them. "They're just curious." She looked back at the clipboard and then to the boxes on the truck, quickly checking the items inside of them.

"Why, who's there?" Merle frowned.

Karen suddenly stopped, without looking at him. "I- I don't know."

Merle narrowed his eyes at the woman, but didn't say anything. He started to unload the truck, as usual, when he heard someone call Karen. The woman looked at the Governor with concerned eyes.

"How is she?" She asked.

"She's awake." He replied. "I need to talk to you."

"Wait." Merle interrupted them. "_She_?"

The Governor stared at him, in a mental discussion with himself, trying to decide if he'd tell him about Lena. He knew the two were pretty close and Merle would do anything to see her or make sure she'd be okay.

"Lena tried to kill herself." Karen spoke, really fast, like if she didn't say the truth Merle would punch her or something. The Governor gave her a scolding look and she shrank her shoulders.

Merle stood still, with eyebrows furrowed and his heart beating like a hammer inside his chest. The feeling of guilt he was feeling since the day before weighed inside him. He tried to keep the expression serious, but he couldn't. Lena Mackling tried to take her own life and he was reason why.

"Why?" He said, in a low voice, already knowing the answer.

"We don't know if she really tried to commit suicide." Philip said, putting his hands on his hips. "I just found her with a piece of broken mirror on her arm, it doesn't mean-"

"Broken mirror?" Merle interrupted him. "You telling me Lena went all emo and tried to slice her wrist?"

"I'm telling you…" Philip raised a hand to calm him. "That I found her like that."

"Gotta see her." Merle said, trying to walk toward the infirmary.

"Merle, hold on." Philip said, putting a hand on his chest. "She stole the beverage from us."

Merle frowned. _So that's why she was at the headquarters yesterday._

"Stevens said she was in an alcoholic coma." He kept talking. "I tried to talk to her, but she kept throwing up, so I don't think you should talk-"

"You don't tell me what to do!" Merle exclaimed, interrupting him and trying to walk to the infirmary.

"Merle!" Philip raised his voice, looking with authoritarian eyes to him. Merle looked at him with an angry expression. "I know you're close to her, but you have to give her time."

Merle sighed, running his hand on through his face.

"Listen, why don't you take the day off?" Philip suggested. "I'm pretty sure she'll be okay to go home by tomorrow."

"Fine." Merle growled and walked away from them.

Karen almost sighed in relieve. "You said you wanted to talk to me, sir?" She asked.

"Yeah." He touched her arm, leading her away from the people who were there. "I need you to replace Lena."

"Sure, I'll do anything until she gets better-"

"No." Philip interrupted her. "You'll be replacing her definitely."

Karen looked surprised at the Governor, with widened eyes. "But, sir-"

"I talked to her already." He interrupted her once more. "She stole our liquor and almost got herself killed. She showed that she cannot be trusted."

Karen just stared at her leader and blinked a few times. She knew she couldn't argue with him, so she just nodded, still a little shocked about the news. It was a big responsibility, making sure that the women were comfortable in that town. She felt guilty for taking Lena's place; it didn't matter how many time she envied the girl, she couldn't help but feel bad for her.

~oOo~

Merle stepped inside Lena's apartment, slowly; his eyes observing everything unusual at the place. It was a mess. He had been at her home a million times and everything was always neat. Eventually there were a few clothes on the floor, but she always made sure to pick it up quickly before he could see it.

There were pieces of broken glass on the floor and the empty bottles on the table and kitchen counter. He saw bottles of Jack Daniel's, vodka and wine all over the place.

_Jesus, Cherry._

One chair was on the floor. The couch was out of its own space. Wherever he walked, pieces of glass were shattered by his boot. He made his way to the hallway and reached her bedroom. The dresser flipped over on the floor, with all of her clothes around. The bed (which Merle remembered the night he helped Lena to move from the living room) was also messed up, with sheets and covers everywhere.

_Looks like she got really angry here. _

He moved on to the bathroom, but regretted immediately. The full body mirror was smashed into pieces that were all over the floor. The mirror above the sink was also broken and he wondered if she had broken with her own hands. There was vomit on the toilet and a small pool of blood beside it. Merle felt his stomach churn and took a deep breath.

"_She did all this mess because of you?"_

"Do me a favor and shut the fuck up, baby brother." He mumbled to himself, leaning on the sink. He took another breath and left the room, walking toward the kitchen. He searched for a rag or something that could clean the blood from the floor. When he finally found it, he looked for a broom somewhere and found one hanged up behind the bathroom door.

He wet the rag with tap water and knelt on the floor to scrub the floor. The blood was a little dry, which make difficult for him to clean it.

"_You'll need more than just water to clean this, ya know."_

Merle grunted. However, his brother-slash-consciousness was right. He was going to need more than water to clean her blood. Shit, he felt like he was trying to get away with murder.

It took a while, but Merle had found a cleaning product that cleaned the blood from the floor. After flushing the toilet, she started to sweep the broken pieces of mirror. He also made sure that he picked up the pieces that were at the sink. Despite the fact he was mad at Lena (and at himself), he cleaned her apartment without saying a word. He had just finished tiding her bedroom when Daryl's voice echoed on his mind again.

"_May I ask you why are you doin' this?"_

Merle sighed, done with these thoughts on his mind. _Just wanted to do something good for her for once._

After sweeping her entire home, with a little bit of difficulty, he put the broken glasses and bottles in a garbage bag and put them outside the apartment. He looked once more to check if the apartment was neat and then closed the door. He walked down the stairs, placing the bag on the outside of the building and making his way toward the infirmary. He didn't care if the Governor told him to take the day off, he needed to see Lena. He needed to ask her, he needed to know why she'd try to kill herself.

Philip was nowhere else to be seen. Merle took advantage of that and entered quickly the infirmary. Alice jumped out of the balcony and tried to stop him, as he walked through the hallway.

"Merle!" She called him, but she ignored her. He looked in every open door, but didn't find who he was looking for. "Merle, please!"

"What?!" He exclaimed, turning around to face her, with his hand closed in a fist. Alice sighed, giving up. She was well aware that the Governor had ordered her and, honestly, she knew why. The girl needed her rest, she needed time to think about what happened, she needed her own moment. But she also knew that Merle Dixon wasn't gonna rest until he sees her.

"She's here." The doctor said, leading Merle to the end of the hallway. Opening the door of the last room she mumbled to him. "Be quick, Governor can't know you're here."

Merle entered the room, silently closing the door behind him. Lena was lying on the bed with her back facing him, looking at the window.

"I don't need another bucket." She murmured, without looking at who was in the room.

"I ain't here to give you another bucket."

Lena's heart skipped a beat. She almost didn't turn to face him; he was the last person she wanted to see. But, eventually, slowly she sat on the bed and turned to see Merle with an angry expression.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" He asked with a calm voice, despite his heart were beating like crazy and all he wanted to do was yell at her. Lena didn't answer at first and looked down, trying to hide her right arm, the one with the bandage on her, now stitched, wound. Merle hit his metallic arm on the nearest table, making her jump in scare, asking her again in a more angry tone. "What the fuck were you thinking, Mackling?!"

This time, she looked at him, with an angry expression, a lump forming in her throat. However, she didn't say a word and Merle kept scolding her.

"Stealin' the liquor, getting drunk and killing yourself?!" He raised his voice. He didn't care if someone was going to listen to him, he just needed to get that out of his chest. "After everything you've done, after survivin' all this time, you were gonna kill yourself?! What the fuck were you thinking?! After I saved you- I don't even know how many times I saved your ass! And you try to kill yourself?! So, lemme ask you one more fucking time! What the fuck were you thinking?!"

Lena stared at him in silence for a moment. Then, she cleared her throat and adjusted her hair.

"Are you done?" She asked quietly, but Merle didn't answer. "When people get drunk, Merle, they call their exes, beat someone or even get into a bar fight." Merle frowned, wondering what her point was. "The first time I got drunk I was arrested, by Officer Friendly actually, for being a minor with a drink on my hands. The second time I got drunk, I drank even more than the first time. I ended up having sex with someone that I didn't even know. I was fucking 17 and I thought I could do anything, after all… My parents were dead, weren't they? The third time I got drunk-"

"Cherry-" Merle tried to interrupt her but she kept talking.

"The third time I got drunk I drank even more." She paused for a moment. "I ended up at the hospital. Passed out. When I woke up they told me I had tried to kill myself by taking two bottles of anti depressives." She stopped talking and Merle thought she was done but she started talking again. "And no matter how much I try, after all those years, I don't remember taking them. I remember being sad and depressed, but I don't remember taking those pills." Tears filled her eyes. "Just like I don't remember smashing that mirror and stabbing my own arm with it."

Merle sighed. "Your point-" Lena interrupted him once more.

"My point is, Merle, people do shit when they get drunk."

"You're telling me you got drunk and don't remember anything?" He asked, putting his hand on his hip.

"Yes." She wiped the tears off her eyes. "I didn't try to kill myself, I don't have a reason for it."

She looked back to the window and Merle observed her, approaching her and feeling guilty for yelling at her. He sat in the chair that was next to the bed and tried to look at her face, but she didn't let him. So he just sat there for a moment, watching her. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Lena finally looked at him. Merle took a deep breath.

"_C'mon, big brother, just three words. I. Am. Sorry."_

Dammit, why couldn't he say those words to her? He was sorry, he really was. But he couldn't manage to say it to her. It was like something was stuck inside him, something stopping him.

"Cherry-"

"It's okay." She interrupted him. "I forgive you." She gave him a quick smile and lay back on the bed, turning her back to him.

She understood. She understood that Merle wasn't the kind of person who'd say sorry. She understood that he wasn't the type who gives love and affection, that he wasn't the kind of man who is used to receive love and affection. She understood that, and she accepted it.

~oOOo~

Six or seven days had passed since the incident with Lena. After she was released, she didn't leave her apartment. She was well aware about Karen taking her place at Philip's "government". She hadn't a purpose on that town anymore. She didn't have to knock on doors asking if everything was fine, asking if there was any woman who needed anything, she didn't have to do these things anymore. So, she didn't get out of her apartment. Being expelled of her only "job" and not being able of participate of the fight in that week, she didn't need to get out.

Karen tried to talk to her. She tried her best not to feel guilty for taking her friend's place, but she couldn't. She had knocked on Lena's door several times, asking if she wanted to talk, if she needed anything. Lena always pretended she was sleeping or simply ignored her. Now that she wasn't taking care of the women anymore, she had plenty of time to read the books she found on her apartment. She had read two in three days. Lena, now, had time for herself. Before, it was always about Karen and the women at the walls, and the women who volunteered to help on the infirmary and supplies and more supplies. Now she had time for thinking.

But she wasn't happy. She was sad, oh God, she was very sad. She thought about leaving the town. But she remembered the day Merle paid her a visit at the infirmary. The day he had yelled at her for no reason. She remembered what he told her in that day, when she told him about her plan.

"_We don't let anyone leave."_

She thought about Merle killing those people who left. If her memory didn't fail, it was probably ten people who left Woodbury. All dead. And their blood was in Merle Dixon's hands. Well, _hand_. But, it didn't matter how hard she tried, she couldn't imagine Merle killing those people. For her, Merle would always be the one who saved her from being raped. Merle would always be the one who saved her a million times from getting bitten and killed The one that comforted her after Evan's death, the one for who she had feelings. She would never change what she'd think of him. It didn't matter how flawed he was.

He would knock on her door too, everyday. Sometimes twice in the same day. She was flattered that he'd think of her (at least was what she thought he thought of her), but she couldn't face him yet. Not after that damn night on his apartment. That night where they were one. That night where both of them felt it. "It". It sounds ridiculous, but it was the truth. So a simple "go away, Merle" was enough. Merle didn't try harder to make her open the door like Karen was. Sometimes, Lena thought that Merle just wanted to talk to someone. Sure he had his friends and all the women that were willing to open his legs for him (yeah, there were a lot), but sometimes she thought that he wanted a true friend to listen to him. It was funny, Merle Dixon wanting a friend to talk. She liked to think about that, that he came to her. She just didn't want to face him yet.

One night, she heard him knocking furiously at her door. She was getting out of the shower when heard him calling her.

"Cherry, I need to talk to you." He said, through the door. "Somethin' really important."

Lena ignored him, as usual and entered her bedroom to put her pajamas on. She chose a long sleeved one and put it on, feeling the fabric scratch her wound on the right arm. She hissed, feeling a little pain and rolled the sleeve up to see the stitches. She wasn't wearing the bandages anymore, but she knew that it wasn't the time to take the stitches off yet. Doctor Stevens told her to wait at least two weeks, since the cut was too deep. When she got out of the bedroom, Merle was still there, asking her to open the door. She frowned at the door; he never had asked her for too long. She, then, decided to open the door for him. For the first time in one week, she took a deep breath and walked toward the door opening it. She looked at Merle and felt her heart beat stronger. However, she didn't felt the lump on her throat or tears on her eyes. She just felt "it". Merle looked at her, also feeling "it". It was the first time that he saw her after the day at the infirmary. He looked at her wet hair, falling down on the side of her neck. He tried not to, but his eyes immediately flew toward her right arm. She realized and quickly unrolled her sleeves. They stood in front of each other in silence for a moment, until he nodded toward the apartment, silently asking if he could came in. She sighed and gave his space to enter the place. She turned his back to him and walked toward the kitchen.

"I was about to make dinner." She was the one who spoke first, opening a cabinet and taking one can from there. "Ravioli. You want some?"

She turned to face Merle who was right behind her. She was startled for a minute, then Merle grabbed her arm and pulled her to the living room.

"Yeah, but first, can we talk for a minute?" He said, sitting her on the chair.

"Uh, okay…" Lena said with the ravioli can still on her hands, as he sat in front of her.

"I talked to the Governor." He started. "He agreed to let you return to your old job."

"What-"

"If you agree to not fuck up anymore. And, y'know, leave the apartment for once." Merle grinned at her.

Lena frowned at him, a little surprised. "Y-you talked to him?" Merle nodded. "And… He agreed?" Merle nodded again. "How?"

He shrugged. "I have my ways."

_Like sharing the good stuff with him._

"Wow, uh…" She breathed, looking at the can of ravioli. "Thanks?"

"You get to have your baseball bat again." Merle said. "It'll be like last week never happened."

"You did this for me?" She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. She tried to hide and looked away, taking a deep breath. "Why?"

Merle looked at her, with his heart beating fast inside of his chest as Daryl's voice echoed on his mind.

"_C'mon, just say it." _

"'Cause I…" Merle, hesitant, reached for her hand. "I care about you, Cherry."

"_Not what I was expecting, but it'll do."_

Lena didn't answer immediately; she just stared at their hands. Merle's touch was gentle (rare were the moments where he was gentle), but Lena kept staring at them, afraid of him letting go.

"'Sides, you're my favorite partner in supplies run." He grinned at her. She gave him a half smile and Merle understood that as a good thing and let go of her hand. Lena's smile disappeared and she quickly reached for his hand before he could get up of his seat. The girl immediately realized what she'd done and let go of his hand, standing up quickly.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, quietly and stormed back to the kitchen, but stopped when realized she forgot the ravioli can at the table. When she turned around, Merle was in front of her holding the can. She chuckled lightly and took the can of his hand. Their hands touched again and they froze, Lena's heart was beating like crazy and she felt it. Merle felt it too, but he tried to brush it off, as usual. "Stay for dinner." She whispered. "Promise you, I won't burn anything."

Merle grinned at her. Once in a while, he would have dinner at Lena's place. He didn't know why, but the food tasted better when she made it. She cooked for him in that night and she could forget about her pain. But she knew she needed to be honest with him. She wasn't that type of person who liked to talk about her feelings, especially after her parents' death. But her father taught her that when a snake bites you, you have to suck the poison. She had to talk to him, it didn't matter how hard it was for her. She thought about at dinner, when they were laughing and talking. She suddenly stopped talking and looked at him with a serious expression her face. Both had already finished their meals, and Merle frowned at her, curious.

"I need to talk to you." She said, after clearing her throat. "About that night in your apartment."

Merle went silent, and the feeling of guilt sank in his stomach. He never got to apologize about that.

"I know you said you were drunk… But I wasn't." Her eyes started to get watery.

_No, please don't cry Cherry._

"I was happy in that night, Merle." She kept talking, a lump forming in her throat. "Like really happy. For the first time, since my parents' death, I could feel joy again."

He knew that. Because he had felt the same thing.

"But then… You dumped me." Tears streamed down on her face. "And I was hopeless again. The night after, when I got drunk… I was looking for something that made me feel that joy again. And then you showed up at the headquarters and I knew. I knew you had felt it too."

She stood up and walked slowly toward him, making him lean his back on the chair and look at her. She gently touched his shoulder, slowly sitting on his lap. Merle tried to stop her.

"Cherry, I-"

"Just look at me." She interrupted him, quickly sitting on his lap and grabbing his face with both hands, forcing him to look in her eyes. "I want you, Merle. I want to feel it again, I want to feel _you_ again."

He just stared at her big brown eyes for moment, reconsidering. He felt the same, he always felt the same. He wanted her, it didn't matter how, Jesus how he wanted her. He thought about backing off, but he just couldn't. if he did, he would lose her, maybe forever. He sighed, still looking at her eyes.

"God dammit, Cherry." He mumbled. And then he kissed her. It wasn't a calm and passionate kiss, but it wasn't an urgent one. He didn't know there was midterm for that. Her hands flew to the back of his neck and he grabbed her hair. He never felt this way, never felt so… Happy.

He stood up, holding Lena's thighs and making her hug him with her legs. Still kissing, he carried her to her bedroom; he knew what was going to happen, he didn't care. A small chuckle came out of her throat when he dropped her on her bed, taking off his coat afterwards. She looked so beautiful, her hair looking like it was splattered on the bed; he smirked, thinking about.

"What?" She laughed.

"C'mere." He told her, leaning toward her and planting a kiss on her lips. She took advantage of the situation and started to unbuckle his belt, rubbing the bulge on his jeans. He let a low groan out of his throat, as he felt her touch. She smiled at his act, grabbing the end of his shirt and pulling over his head. He stopped kissing her and took the shirt off, grinning at her. "Your turn."

He grabbed her shirt and pulled over her head, leaving her breasts exposed. His hand grabbed one, squeezing lightly, and making Lena whimper. He kissed her neck, licking and nibbling his way down to the other breast, where he gave a special attention. Lena's moans were low, followed by quick breaths and sighs. Merle made his way toward her belly, planting kisses where he passed. He grabbed the elastic of her pajamas and looked at her.

"A little help here?" He said, grinning and Lena lifted her hips from the bed, making easier for him to take her pants off. He pulled her panties in process too; his fingertips traveled the inside of her thighs sending shivers everywhere. Slowly, his hand reached his destiny, touching her wet warmth and massaging it. Lena threw her head behind her and closed her eyes, feeling Merle's magic fingers on her.

Then, she suddenly closed her legs and Merle frowned at her. She sat on the bed looking at his eyes; he didn't even know that her hands were working on getting his pants down until he felt Lena's hands on his erection. She slowly stroked him, her eyes never leaving his. He closed his eyes as he felt her mouth wrap him, moisturizing him with her saliva.

_Well, that's something you didn't do last night._

Merle felt Lena's mouth trying to take all of him and chuckled a little. She stopped and looked up at him; he then pushed her to lie down on the bed again, quickly pushing his pants down, together with the shoes and stepping out of them. He guided himself into her warmth, both anxious waiting for that moment. But only entered a little bit, making Lena frown at him. He grinned at her, rubbing his rough thumb in her sensitive spot, teasing her.

"Merle." She breathed, between sighs and moans. "Merle, please." She closed her eyes, delirious with the pleasure.

"Please what, Cherry?" He teased. "What you want me to do, huh?"

She shook her head, breathing heavily. She refused to say it. She always thought it was so vulgar to talk like that.

"You can't even say it, can you?" Merle said, thrusting into her, making her moan a little louder than before.

He leaned toward her, their torsos touching; she hugged him as he made her moves harder and faster on her. He kissed her lips, also breathing heavily; both were starting to sweat from the effort, but he didn't stopped. Lena dug her nails on Merle's skin as she felt the familiar sensation come to her. She curled her toes and bit his shoulder as she felt her first orgasm of the night. Merle lowered his thrusts and looked at her. She swallowed hard and he gave her another kiss.

"C'mon." He growled, standing on his knees on the back and indicating for her to lie on her stomach. She obeyed him, standing on four as he grabbed her hips. She felt the cold metallic arm on her right side and moaned when he entered her again. The thrusts were harder this time and she felt his nails dig into the skin of her left hip, groaning once more. Merle wasn't surprise by her lack of sounds, he had seen it before. She was quiet, even when she reached her climax. Even, though he liked the women who screamed his name during sex, he liked that too. He liked her quick breaths; once in a while, she let go an exclamation or a whimper.

"Shit!" She exclaimed, grabbing the sheets and blankets on the bed.

Merle felt Lena's walls tighten around him, hearing a sigh and a moan from her. He sped up the thrusting, feeling close of his own orgasm; he let out a growl from his throat and released his contents inside of her. Lena felt him throbbing inside of her and smiled. Both fell on the bed, with heavy breathing and sweaty bodies.

"Desert was great." Merle said, making Lena chuckle.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** I wish I could say I wrote a lot in these days I wasn't posting but that's not true. However, I finished chapter 14 and I'm starting the 15th. Thank you for your patience. And I'm sorry for the huge delay.

P.S.: Sometimes I forget that Merle has just one hand. This is a long ass chapter, I'm so sorry.

~oOo~

Merle was listening to Lena's breathing with his back turned to her, in the next morning, in silence. She was still asleep; after the second and third round last, Merle wore her out. He smiled at the memories, trying not to chuckle. Merle was always the kind of guy who didn't care much about anything or anyone- beyond Daryl; but he was surprised with himself when he actually admitted that he cared about Lena. The man sighed, closing his eyes and pinching his nose.

"_Look at you, getting emotionally involved with a woman. Never thought this day would come, big bro.__"_

Shut up.

"_You know it__'__s true.__"_

The man sighed once more. He made a mental note, telling himself to stop smoking weed with the boys; these "Daryl thoughts" had to go. Sure it always encouraged Merle to do the right and good things, but it wasn't really Daryl. He knew that it was just his consciousness inside his head. Even though sometimes he liked hearing his little brother's voice in his head. Merle missed him so much it made his heart ache. He remembered he was a piece of shit of a brother to him. Just like their father. He sighed again. If someday he'd meet his brother again, he would apologize. He didn't even care if their father taught that "Dixons don't say 'I'm sorry'". He wasn't here to see it. Merle was truly sorry for leaving his baby brother with that piece of shit.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Lena move on the bed and, a few seconds later, her breathing on the back of his neck. She was so close to him, he wasn't used to that. He almost prayed to God that she doesn't wake up and see the marks and scars on his back. He heard her sigh and kept quiet, pretending he was asleep.

And then he felt her gentle touch in one of his scars. Her fingertips brushed lightly, contouring the scar, sending shivers to Merle's spine. Slowly, he felt more fingers touching his back, gently stroking his skin. He didn't complain, he liked her touch. It made him feel relaxed.

"Wasn't supposed for you to see this." He mumbled to her.

Her response was a small kiss in one of his marks, the one near his right shoulder.

"Battle scars." She whispered.

Merle frowned and turned around to face her. "You think these are battle scars?" He asked, a little rough, regretting immediately, eyeing the scar on her face. She lay on her back and looked at the ceiling.

"You survived didn't you?" She said quietly.

"Yeah." He replied after a moment in silence. She looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"Battle scars." She repeated and looked back at the ceiling with a serious expression on her face.

Both stayed in silence for a moment, until Merle spoke.

"You ain't gonna ask what happened to me?"

She lay on her side again, facing him. "What happened?" She asked.

He looked at ceiling for a moment and then closed his eyes, putting the back of his hand on his forehead. "Had a piece of shit for a father."

Lena stared at Merle, who was still with his eyes closed, and felt like someone had stabbed her heart. She frowned, broken hearted for him; they stood for a moment in silence, before her approach him, carefully, like if she made any sudden move he would run away from her. But he didn't. Merle stood with his eyes still closed, not moving a single muscle while she gently leaned her face on his shoulder and placed an arm across his torso, hugging him.

"One day." He started to talk, not sure of what he was doing. "He came from the bar, shit faced drunk, like always and started yelling at Daryl for some reason. Somethin' stupid I bet. I was in my room… Y'know, gettin' stoned when I heard him." He paused for a moment and opened his eyes, but didn't look at her. "Wasn't gonna let him beat an 11 year old boy, so I just…" He sighed. Lena tightened her grip on him, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She said so quietly that he almost didn't hear. He felt so good, with her cheek on his shoulder, her arm holding him. He felt… Loved. Something that he never had felt before; he never felt loved by anyone, sometimes not even by his little brother.

He lowered his arm, gently stroking hers with his thumb. Both stood there, just listening to each other's breathing, wanting the moment to last forever. But it was Merle who spoke first.

"We're gonna be late." His voice was rough and it made Lena's heart drop inside her chest; she didn't move and tightened even more her arms on him.

"No…" She said in a low tone, her voice shaky and a lump on her throat.

He looked at her and touched her face, making her look at him. "I ain't leaving ya." He said, looking at her eyes. Lena realized he was being honest. She didn't know why, she couldn't explain, she just… Knew.

She let him go, embarrassed for acting like a child in front of him. Merle got up from the bed and started looking for his clothes. Lena did the same, but made a face when felt the pain in her thighs.

"You okay?" Merle asked, noticing that she was struggling to put her panties.

"Yeah, I guess." She replied. "Just… My thighs are a little sore."

Merle chuckled as he put his pants on.

"What?" Lena asked when saw he was laughing.

"Nothin'." He replied, shrugging.

Lena narrowed her eyes at him, watching him put his boots on, as she put a shirt on. She remembered the day she met Merle, and how he made her feel like she was just a horny teenager. When she didn't know of what he was capable of, what he'd make her feel. She watched as he walked towards the bathroom and smiled at herself.

When she finished getting dressed, she walked towards the kitchen and opened the cabinet to get something to eat. The people at the town were already outside of their houses; some going to the library, others to the gym. It didn't matter where they were going; they were starting to forget about the world that was outside the walls. If a herd invaded the town, or if something happened and forced them to leave, they wouldn't know how to survive. They wouldn't know how to fight walkers or dangerous groups out there.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Merle's hand on the back of her neck, gently moving it cup her cheek; his arm around her shoulder, his thumb gently stroking her cheek scar. She tried not to smile, but it was written on her face. She was happy.

"You're right." She looked up to him. "We're late."

Merle chuckled and let go of her, walking towards the living room. "We should get going or they'll start to suspect." He said, putting his leather jacket on.

She raised her eyebrows and gave him a playful smile. "You're ashamed of me now, Dixon?"

Merle looked at her, a little surprised, with a neutral expression.

"Oh, my God, you are." Lena suddenly was serious.

"No, Cherry, I-" Merle raised his hand, trying to explain.

"Relax, I'm joking." Lena interrupted him laughing. "I'm right behind ya, by the way. Stevens wants me to go to the infirmary to see the stitches."

She opened a cabinet, taking two energy bars from a box and called him as he opened the door. She threw the bars to him and he caught them on air.

"See you at the headquarters." She winked at him.

~oOOo~

"This is Joe Morgan. "The Governor introduced the newest member of his "government".

Five days had passed since Lena returned to the streets, even though she couldn't do much with the wound on her arm. She would stay at the walls, and helped like she could.

The guy Philip was introducing was tall, with messy brown hair and green eyes. His eyes observed everyone at the living room and stopped on Lena, who was in a corner, away from everyone. The girl wasn't paying much attention on Philip's words; her eyes were vague, directed to the floor, her mind was somewhere else. Merle frowned when noticed, from the other side of the room, that Joe's eyes couldn't leave her. He felt anger fill his chest, not a bad kind but a different one. The kind of anger that he had never felt before.

"_It__'__s called jealous, brother.__"_

_I__'__m not jealous. I just__… __Don__'__t like him looking at her like that._

"_Why, she yours?__"_

_Nah-_

Merle narrowed his eyes when Joe smiled at Lena who seemed to finally fall back to reality. The girl realized the new guy was looking at her and looked away to Merle. He grinned at her and she responded with large smiled, followed by a bite on her lower lip.

_Shit. She__'__s mine._

"_So, you__'__re-__"_

_Yeah, okay? I__'__m fucking jealous!_

Once the introduction was over, the group had dispersed and Philip walked towards the door to get out of the house. Lena quickly reached him.

"Sir." She called him, making him turn around to face her.

"You don't have to call me like that, Lena." He smiled at her and she smiled.

"Sorry." She laughed a bit. "I wanna thank you for letting me coming back to here." She shoved her hands on her jacket pocket.

"Don't thank me, thank Merle." He replied and turned around to leave.

"Actually, uh…" She called him once more. "I was going to ask if I could go on a supply run soon as possible…?"

"If Stevens agrees with it, so you can go." He smiled.

"Well, he said I was fine to move again tomorrow, so…" She shrugged a bit.

"Then, tomorrow it is." He nodded at her, leaving the place. Lena smirked alone as everyone left the place.

The girl felt someone poke her shoulder and turned to see it was Joe. The man smiled at her and she gave him a small one, looking away and putting lock of hair behind her ear.

"Hi." Joe said offering his hand. "I'm Joe."

Lena shoved her hands once more on her jacket pockets and looked at him. "Yeah, I know." She replied, roughly, but Joe just laughed and put his hand on his pocket. He kept looking at her and she frowned a little, trying to get out of his sight.

She sighed when saw Merle coming towards her, grinning.

"You okay?" He asked, ignoring Joe's presence and she nodded. "You asked him?"

"Yeah, uh, he told me I can go tomorrow." She smiled.

"Told ya." He said winking at her. "You wanna go to the library now?"

"Nah, I gotta go to the gym." She looked at her fingernails. "Then I gotta stay at the walls. You have to go without me, this time."

"There's a gym here?!" Joe asked, making Merle and Lena look at him. Merle looked deep in his eyes with a serious expression. He got the message and got away from them, making Lena chuckle.

"Anyway." Merle sighed. "Ain't no fun without ya."

Lena smiled, looking at the floor. God, how Merle liked that smile. He could feel his heart beat even faster when she showed him her perfect teeth.

"Sorry, Mr. Dixon, but this time you have to go on your own." She looked at him.

Merle looked around to make sure there was no one around and noticed they were alone at the house. He leaned towards her, putting his hand on the wall behind her and planting a kiss on her lips. "That means I got a lil' somethin' at night?" He grinned at her.

Lena bit her bottom lip, smiling at him. "Maybe." She shrugged a little.

He chuckled. "I like the sound of that." He kissed her once more, this time, a much warmer kiss. She put both hands on the side of his face and kissed him back, making their hearts skip a beat.

"Hey, uh-" A voice interrupted them and Lena pushed Merle away from her, embarrassed. They didn't tell anyone about being "together". In fact, they didn't even know what they were doing; but the fact of being caught in a moment so intimate like that made Lena's cheeks burn. It was Joe who was at the front door, looking at them like he had seen a ghost. Merle stepped back from Lena with the same serious expression he made before. "I was just going to ask where the…" he stopped talking when realized Merle was staring at him. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt-"

"It's okay." Lena interrupted him and then looked at Merle, touching his arm. He looked at her and she nodded, indicating that was fine. "You weren't interrupting."

Still looking at Merle, she widened her eyes a little, indicating to let it go. Merle didn't say a word and walked away from them, leaving the house.

"Sorry about that." She said pointing at the door where Merle left. "He's been stressed out lately." She lied.

"Oh." Joe sighed, watching Lena pass through the door. "Can you tell me where the gym is?" He walked towards her.

"I'm going there, if you want to come with me." She didn't look at him as she talked. He followed her through the streets in silence.

"So that's your boyfriend." He said quietly. Lena frowned at him.

"What?"

"You two were kissing."

"That means nothing." She looked around to see if anyone had heard him. "And you better not tell anyone, Merle would be really pissed."

"So, you're not his girlfriend."

Lena was quiet for a moment. She actually didn't think about it, Merle and she were just hooking up for a few days and it was good like that. No need to label things in the moment. She loved the way she felt with Merle; hell, she could say she loved him. But it was too soon for that. She knew the kind of man Merle was. She was friends with men like him, before the outbreak. She remembered exactly how they acted when it came to feelings. She took a deep breath, brushing off the thoughts of her mind and replied to the annoying man beside her.

"Nope."

~oOo~

"Hey." Merle's voice was soft when he called Lena from the streets.

"Hey." She smiled at him and started to climb down the stairs.

"Somethin' came up." He said, putting his hand on his hip. "I gotta go on a run."

"Oh." Lena replied. "But it's gonna get dark soon."

"I know Cherry, but I gotta go." He sighed.

"You're not gonna go alone, right?"

He shook his head and looked behind her to see if there was someone around them. She stared at him and pressed her lips together, something Merle noticed she did when she was repressing something she wanted to say. She then nodded and looked at ground.

"Okay." She said in a low tone.

"I'll be fine."

"I know." She smirked at him. "Just…" She pressed her lips again and crossed her arms on her chest.

"C'mon, just say it."

"Don't do anything stupid." She said, too quickly. Merle just stared at her and scoffed, but didn't say a word. "Please."

"What?" He frowned at her

"Don't do anything stupid that could cost your life." She whispered, looking at his eyes. "You're the only good, constant thing in my life, Merle. And I don't mean that just because… We're fucking." He chuckled together with her; she sighed, looking away to behind him. "You're the longest friend I've ever had."

Merle didn't know what to say. He was actually surprised about her little confession. Truth was that Merle also didn't have a friendship that long either. She was his first real friend, the first one who didn't run away in the first opportunity. And then, he realized something.

Both were broken. Merle was an addicted. Lena couldn't let go of her past. Somehow they found themselves, who they really should be, in each other. Lena made him want to be a better man for her. She got into his mind, under his skin. She caused an effect on him that was even better than any other drug he ever did.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." He touched her face and she smirked at him. "Just don't forget about tonight." He grinned.

"You got it, Dixon." She smiled back at him.

~oOo~

The place that Merle's group found was a small grocery store, with some boards nailed on the doors. Joe had said he found the local a few days before finding Woodbury. Merle wasn't sure about the it, he sensed it was a waste of time, but he couldn't contradict the boss. The Governor had told them to check out the place, search for ammo and water. It was what the town needed more.

After removing the nails from the boards, they entered the silent store, already expecting the worse. The boards were there for a reason. As they walked through the hallways, an unbearable smell invaded their nostrils, making them cough and put their hands on their faces.

"What the fuck is that smell?!" Martinez exclaimed.

"Must be the fresh fruits and vegetables." Merle answered. "Ain't fresh anymore, though."

They started looking the place for water, while checking for walkers. Merle noticed the stairs, near by the register cashes that leaded to the administrative part of the store. He walked them up, slowly, with his gun in hand and as he approached the closed doors, he could hear mumbles from inside.

"Psst!" He called Martinez from down stairs. The man followed Merle and raised his gun, pointing to the door.

Merle kicked the door open and Martinez entered the room expecting to find walkers inside, but he only found one. It was hanged by the neck, swinging and groaning, trying to reach them. Merle walked towards the beast, stabbing it in the eye with his bayonet arm. The room that seemed that was an office was transformed on a room with two mattresses and empty cans all over the floor. He frowned when saw the scene, confused.

"Thought I heard mumbles from here." He commented. He ran his eyes through the place, observing the old, dirty blankets, the books and papers on the floor. He stopped on an opened can of tuna. He could sense something weird on the room. The tuna can was opened not long ago. He observed once more the room and noticed the cabinets on one side of the wall and walkers towards them, opening the doors one by one until he got in the last one. When he opened the last one, a girl jumped out of it in his direction, holding a knife on her hands. Martinez held her in time, dropping his gun to the floor and hugging her from behind.

The girl struggled and yelled, but Martinez held her down. Merle grabbed his friend's gun and pointed to her head. The girl widened her eyes and dropped her knife; Merle noticed her hair were just like Lena's. Brown, messy, a little shorter. She was short, a little chubbier than Lena, but the resemblance reminded him of her. Tears filled the girl's brown eyes when she saw the dead walker hanged on the middle of the room.

"You're gonna be a problem?" Merle asked, still pointing the gun to her head.

"No." She said, quietly, still looking at the walker.

"Good." Merle approached her. "What's your name, girl?"

The girl didn't answer him and started crying. Merle sighed, grabbing her face, making her look at him.

"Asked you a question, girl." He said. She swallowed and closed her eyes tight.

"Rebecca." She replied.

"You alone, Rebecca?"

More tears streamed down her face and she looked at the walker. "I am now." She sobbed.

Merle frowned and looked at the walker behind them. "You knew him?" He asked, letting go of her face.

"He was my boyfriend." She replied as Merle inspected her, to see if she had any weapon with her. He noticed that there were scars on both of her wrists, like if she had tried to kill herself.

Taking her knife in his hand, Merle nodded to Martinez and he let go of her, making her fall in her knees, crying.

"We have a place." Merle said, giving the speech he always did when he found someone outside the town. "With people-"

"Just kill me." She interrupted him.

He stared at her and then to Martinez, who shrugged at him. The older man just shook his head at her.

"Nah, death ain't the answer." He said, without looking at her.

"It is when you're not with someone you love." She stared at him, still on her knees, tear strains on her cheeks. He looked at her and was surprised with the fact she looked like Lena. The hair, the eyes. "Please." She begged, crying even more.

"Look, we have food, water, a place to sleep." Martinez said. "Even people. You can find someone-"

"No!" She exclaimed. "Just fucking kill me! Please!"

Both men stared for a while, then Merle shook his head.

"No." He stared into her eyes. "If you wanna kill youself, you're gonna have to do it on your own."

He left her knife on the floor and walked away from her, Martinez following him.

~oOo~

Lena bit her thumb nail and shook her legs furiously as Karen was checking the list for the supplies run for the next day. It was already dark and Merle didn't come back to the town.

"Lena?" Karen gently shook her.

"What?" She said, coming back to reality.

"I asked you if you wanted to check the list yourself."

"Oh, no, it's okay." She took a deep breath.

"You look distracted." The older woman frowned at her.

"I'm sorry I'm just…" Lena sighed. "Worried."

"About the boys? They'll be fine." Karen scoffed. "Why don't you let me handle this, and go home, relax a little?"

"I'm okay." Lena said, but kept shaking her leg like crazy.

"It's okay, I got this." Karen insisted.

Lena stared at her for a while and sighed. "Okay." She replied, quietly, standing up.

The air outside was cold, so Lena walked quickly to her apartment. After eating dinner on her own, she decided to take Karen's advice and took a bath. She had found a new body wash in one of the bathroom cabinets that smelled like lavender and decided to use it. She spent enough time on the bath tub to make her fingers wrinkle. After a failed attempt to dry her hair with a towel, she put some sweater pants and a top shirt. She tried to ignore the fact that she may be never see Merle again and lay on the bed. Her mind was creating the worst scenarios ever. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to sleep.

_He knows how to take care of himself. Ain__'__t nobody can kill Merle, but Merle._

She was half asleep when felt the bed move. Lena slowly opened her eyes and felt Merle's metallic arm hug her from behind. He buried his face on her humid hair, smelling it and smiling to himself.

"Didn't hear you coming." Lena mumbled, closing her eyes again and smiling.

"Perks of bein' a hunter." He said with a rough voice. "Didn't mean to wake you."

She smiled. "It's okay." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

"You smell good."

"Found a new body wash today."

"A new what?"

Lena laughed. "A liquid soap."

"Oh."

She turned to face him, smiling and opening her big brown eyes. It only made Merle remember of that girl at the grocery store. He remembered how the guilt consumed him and made him come back to the place to get her. But it was too late; Rebecca had already sliced her throat with the knife and became a walker.

"I was worried about you." Lena said with a soft voice, making Merle snap to reality. He grinned at her and kissed her lips.

"Told ya I'd be fine." He said, lying on his back. Lena lay her head on his shoulder and put her arm across his chest. His hand was in her back, gently stroking it and sending shivers to her spine as always.

"Yeah, you did." She smiled, closing her eyes.

"What you doin'?"

"Cuddling."

Merle scoffed. "Dixons don't cuddle."

Lena scoffed, imitating Merle. "Now you do."

Lena fell asleep in a second. Merle could feel her breathing on his neck, but he didn't care. It felt good having her in his arms. After Rebecca, he felt like he had to protect her from anything. Even from insanity.

The man sighed, thinking about what was going on, about what they were doing. It was all happening so fast, the sex, the kisses, the cuddling. Merle wondered if he had feelings for her. It was obvious they weren't just "fuck buddies". It was something more, something that both of them didn't know yet. Merle fucked a lot of women during his life and none of them made him feel what he felt when he was with Lena. It was something new for him. He wondered if it was the same for her. He wondered if she felt the same. He wondered, once more, what the fuck they were doing. His internal self, once in a while, asked that question, mocking him, making him remember his own father.

"_No Dixon can be fooled by any woman.__"_ It was what his father had told him. He remembered the many whores his own man used to bring home, even before his mom was gone. It was like he was never married to her. But… Was he happy? Merle remembered the many prostitutes that he brought home and wondered if he was happy with them. At the time he was. But after… He used to feel empty. He remembered feeling lonely and always denying that feeling. He used to think that Dixons didn't need anyone, only each other. What if was a lie? What if his father was wrong, after all that time?

_I guess everybody needs someone who cares in their life._

He thought about Daryl. How he had always a soft spot for everyone. Merle had Daryl caring about him since the younger Dixon was born. But his little brother wasn't around anymore, was he? Had Lena replaced him? He was absolutely sure that the girl cared about him, no doubt. But what if he found his brother again? Would the older Dixon forget about her and leave the town, with his brother following his steps, like the old times?

_No. Abso-fucking-lutely no._

~oOo~

In the moment Lena opened her eyes, she felt a hand gently grabbing her breast.

"What-" She mumbled.

"Shh." Merle interrupted her. "'S alright, sweetheart."

She felt his lips on her neck and his hand sliding down on her body, going straight to inside her sweater pants. Merle grinned when noticed she wasn't wearing any underwear. Lena let out a tiny moan as he touched her warmth, only to feel it becoming more and more wet.

"Merle." She sighed, closing her eyes as he touched her bundle of nerves, circling it gently. He kissed her lips and then took her pants off, positioning himself between her legs. He grinned at her, brushing his fingertips on her inner thigh and then lowering himself towards her.

She felt Merle's tongue play with her warmth and closed her eyes, arching her back from the bed. As he pleasured her with his mouth, her breathing became faster and she felt like never before. No man had ever gone down on her before and she felt like heaven.

"Oh, fuck, Merle Dixon!" She exclaimed, grabbing the sheets and feeling her orgasm. Merle chuckled between her thighs and didn't stop, moving his tongue faster and faster until her whole body was shaking. She raised her hips, trying make him stop, but he held her down, putting his hand on her. "Merle!" She exclaimed, grabbing his hair and making him look at her. He grinned and stood on his knees on the bed, looking at her, with his hand on her knee.

"Just wish I had two hands." He said, laying on top of her and planting a kiss on her neck.

Lena chuckled. "What was that about?"

"Saw the way Joe looked at you." He buried his face on her neck. "Needed to mark my territory, y'know."

Lena went silent and Merle noticed that she was tense. He raised his head to look at her; she was with her eyebrows furrowed and heart beating like crazy.

"You have no idea…" She started whispering. "Of how much you got me horny, just by saying that sentence."

Merle smiled at her and stood on his knees again, working on unbuckling his belt, fast, like if she was going to change her mind at any second. It was funny of how she put him in his knees without even knowing. Lena quickly took off her shirt, smiling at him.

Without ceremony, he guided himself inside her, thrusting slowly at first, getting a few low moans from Lena. He, then, increased his thrusts, making it rough and fast, like he was used to. He growled as the pounded her, enjoying the view of her breasts bouncing up and down. Their breathing quickly increased and Merle didn't think twice and grabbed her throat. Lena suddenly became tense and grabbed his wrist, digging her nails on his skin. At first, Merle thought it was because of the pleasure he was giving her, but she wasn't moaning anymore.

In her mind, memories of her rape came to her and she tried to scream, but it was like she couldn't breathe. Choking in sex was a normal thing for Merle, he knew that it would give more pleasure for both of them. He had done a thousand times, but for Lena… It was like living the nightmare again.

"Stop…" She breathed, tears streaming down her face. Merle immediately let go of her neck and she pushed him away from her, rolling to the end of the bed. Merle frowned, confused.

Lena sat on the edge of the bed and started crying. "I'm sorry." She sobbed.

"Cherry?" He approached her.

Her hands touched her neck and she tried to turn her face away from him, embarrassed for interrupting their act. Merle, then, finally remembered what she had told him, five months ago, after a redneck tried to rape her. He remembered the look on her face. At the time, he didn't care much about her, but right now… It killed him.

"I'm sorry…" She repeated, whispering.

"Fuck." Merle breathed. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how. It was like the situation at the cabin before. He wasn't good in comforting, but God, he wanted to be in that moment. "Cherry, I forgot-"

Lena stood up and ran to the bathroom, leaving Merle alone in bed, hating himself.

~oOo~

The silence was making Merle uncomfortable. After what happened in Lena's apartment, they didn't speak for the last hour. He felt guilty. He should have known that a girl who was already raped wasn't much into rough sex.

On the other side, Lena also felt guilty. She didn't remember the last time that the memories came so strong in her. She sighed leaning her forehead on the car window. Merle drove in silence, never taking his eyes off the road.

"Are we gonna talk or…?" She asked with a quiet voice.

"You're the one that ran away." He replied, regretting immediately.

"You're the one who choked me." She crossed her arms on her chest, looking at him like a kid.

"I know." He sighed. "Cherry-"

"It's okay." She interrupted him. "I think I exaggerated a little."

"A little?" He chuckled.

She laughed. "Okay, I did exaggerate. Period."

Merle shrugged, not knowing what to say. He mentally thanked her for not making him apologize to her. Again. He wasn't good with words and she understood that.

"Sorry you couldn't… you know." She interrupted his thoughts.

"'S fine, we got all afternoon when we come back."

"We can be dead 'till afternoon."

He looked at her who was looking at the trees passing by and looked at the road again. She was right, they could be dead by afternoon. Thinking about that made Merle want her. He wanted to pull over and have car sex with her until they pass out. But he couldn't because they weren't alone. The only reason why they were going to get supplies was because before Joe entered the town, he had found a couple of places that were practically untouched. So Merle and Lena were following the car where Martinez and Joe were inside, to get there.

When they arrived at the drugstore, he seemed excited with the fact he was already out of the town.

"So, what do we do? We just get in there and take the stuff or-"

Merle interrupted him with a scoff. "No need to get your panties wet, Joey." He said. "Lena and I will check the place then you and Martinez can come in."

Lena smirked. Merle never let her go with him to check for walkers, but this time was different and she knew why. He didn't want her to be alone with Joe. She thought it was kinda cute, imagining Merle getting all jealous of her.

The place seemed untouched and Merle noticed that. It was almost too good to be true. There were no walkers, the snacks were on the shelves. It was all too perfect. After calling Joe and Martinez to the place, Merle went to the back of the store to check on the medicines. The shelves were full. The shoved his hand on the pocket of his jeans and took a folded paper from there, the paper that doctor Alice gave him to get the right medicines. He started to pick the required ones, one by one, when he felt someone poke his shoulder. He turned around to see who was and caught just a glimpse of Lena. She pressed her lips against his, going for an anxious kiss. He felt her hand grab the middle of his legs, through the jeans.

For a moment, he froze, but then he kissed her back, dropping the bottles of medicine on the floor and cupping her cheek. He was starting to feel the hunger grow on him, making the bulge on his jeans grow even more. He tried to pull out of her, just to warn her, but she grabbed the back of his neck, forcing him to continue to kiss her.

"You were so kind to me this morning." She murmured on his lips. "And I fucked up."

Lena pulled their lips apart and stared into Merle's blue eyes. "Cherry-"

"Shut up." She interrupted him, unbuckling his belt and getting on her knees. Merle eyed the door, afraid that Joe or Martinez would walk on them. Martinez would probably laugh and Joe… Well, Joe would probably walk away like if he didn't see a thing.

In the moment his pants were down, she touched him, stroking his member slowly and looking deeply into his eyes. Still looking at him, she licked her four fingers and wrapped her hand around him, licking just the tip of him. He closed his eyes, growling as she put him in her mouth, moisturizing him with her saliva. She licked from the bottom to the top, stroking him faster and making him moan. She sucked him, bobbing her head up and down. Merle grabbed a fist full of her hair and she immediately stopped midway, raising her hand to touch his and making him let go of her hair. He laced their fingers together as she continued to pleasure him.

When Merle came, right on her throat, she didn't say a word. She swallowed the results of his orgasm and smiled at him. He breathed heavily as he tried to quickly put his pants back on. He grabbed Lena's neck and pulled her for a kiss.

"Thanks, Cherry." He said with a rough voice. She just smiled at him and helped him to pick the medicine bottles from the floor.

They left the back room, Lena following Merle, Joe and Martinez were almost done with the bags of food and other stuff. Suddenly, Lena felt an arm hook her torso making her drop her bags and yell. At first she thought it was a walker, but then, she felt an arm on her neck. Merle turned around, raising his gun to shoot the beast that was getting Lena.

But it wasn't a beast. It was someone. It was a man, holding her and walking backwards, away from them. Beside him, there was another man, with his gun aimed to him. Merle didn't think twice and started shooting at him. Martinez and Joe ran towards them, realizing that someone was actually kidnapping Lena. Both men started to shoot them, being careful not to hit the girl.

Merle saw four more men coming out of behind the shelves and turned his attention to them. With the corner of his eye, he could see the guy with Lena getting away from them. He was losing her. He couldn't let that happen. They were going to rape her and kill her. He couldn't let her go through that nightmare again.

In the arms of her kidnapper, Lena struggled and fought the best she could. But it was hopeless. She was much stronger than her and he was holding her with a chokehold, increasing the pressure at every move she did. She felt the air escaping her lungs, and she wanted to scream again but she couldn't breathe. In five seconds, she passed out, her body going numb on the man's arms.

Merle couldn't see them anymore. The man had escaped with her, through the back door. It took a while, but after putting all four men down, he ran to the back door, opening the door and storming out the alley, where he saw a car running away from there. He breathed heavily, letting out a sigh, frustrated.

He lost her. He didn't want to believe he failed to save her. She was gone forever and it was his fault. He breathed, leaning his hand on his knee, trying to accept the fact that he would never see her again. He could hear his heart beat fast on his ear and someone calling him.

"_C__'__mon, brother.__" __Daryl__'__s voice echoed in his mind. __"__Look behind ya.__"_

Merle turned around and saw Martinez calling him to come inside.

"They got her." Merle mumbled. He didn't care about anything anymore, the only reason why he was keeping his hope up was gone. He could see that now. She didn't exactly brought hope for him, didn't make him believe, but gave him a reason to keep fighting. A reason for protecting the town. Her. She was the reason he wanted to keep the town safe.

"One of them is alive." Martinez interrupted his thoughts. Merle stormed back inside the store and saw Joe keeping a gun in one of the men that was still alive. He stared at him with anger in his chest.

"So what do we do?" Joe mumbled looking at him.

Merle walked towards the man that had a psycho look on his face. With one hit of his metallic arm on his head, he made the man pass out on the floor. Merle looked at him with an angry look and replied to Joe.

"He's coming with us."


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N**_: This whole idea was inspired by an episode of Dexter. It's crazy, I know. But it's awesome. Also, there were some parts were I got inspiration from the game Outlast, but that's just me being a nerd. I just really love Dexter AND Outlast, so why not put them together? Lmao, I hope you like it. Oh, and please, please, pretty please tell me what you think of this chapter. I'm really happy when you guys give your opinions and I'll reply to you, anytime I can (:

**Trigger warning!111** This chapter may be disturbing for some people, don't be mad at me, please thank you very much, I love you.

~oOo~

Lena opened her eyes and felt the cold, hard floor underneath her. She coughed and took a deep breath, remembering the events from before she passed out. She quickly stood up, trying to figure out where she was. It was too dark to see anything besides the long hallway in front of her. And behind her. She was in a middle of a long hallway with one lantern on her feet. She didn't notice the note beside it until she crouched and picked the crumbled piece of paper to read it.

"_Run"_

Suddenly, a scream made her jump and a shiver ran through her spine. It was a feminine scream and she felt like someone was hurting the girl. Her breath started to increase and her heart beat like crazy; footsteps invaded her ears and she reached for her gun in the belt on her waist. Of course, they must have taken it away from her when she was asleep. The fear grew on her and she felt the need to run. The footsteps sounded like someone was running towards her. She took a deep breath and stood still, waiting for the worst to meet her.

But it was only a girl. A woman, actually. She ran towards Lena, colliding with her and almost making both fall on the floor. She was a mess. Her face had several superficial cuts that still were bleeding, her hair was a ginger mess and tears lines were on her cheeks. They both just stared each other for a while; it was Lena who spoke first.

"Where are we?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"The maze." The woman whispered, her eyes filling up with tears. Loud heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway and the woman jumped scared and tried to run, but Lena held her down.

"Wait!" She tried to talk.

"I must run!" She exclaimed. "It's coming!" She tried to run again, but the girl held her on place again.

"Who?!" Lena breathed. "Who's coming?!"

The red headed woman shook her head and swallowed hard. "Not who. It."

"Is it lurkers?"

She shook her head again and looked behind Lena, widening her eyes, tears streaming down her face. Lena looked behind her, letting the woman go. If the fear wasn't creeping on her before, it sure was all that she felt in that moment. At the end of the hallway there was a big monster.

_A Minotaur._

Of course, she knew it wasn't a monster, it was just someone with a big bull head mask on their head. But she could swear his silhouette looked just like one. And he was holding an axe in his hands. For the first time on her life, she felt so scared, she almost pissed her pants. The Minotaur started running on her direction and she didn't think twice. Unarmed, she didn't have any other option. She ran in the same direction, without daring look back. She ran as fast as she could, but the dark hallway seemed endless.

Eventually, she had found a light at the end and two paths to follow. She looked at her right but she could see nothing but darkness. At her left, there was a bit of light and other two paths to choose.

_Of course, this is a maze. These people are fucking crazy._

Thinking fast, she chose the darkest path. It was going to be more likely she'd choose the light one, right? Maybe she could fool that Minotaur by hiding in the dark. However, she didn't stop running; she ran with her hands in front of her, sure as hell she didn't want to hit a wall and break her nose. It was hard to run in the dark. She was so scared to run into that monster. She couldn't hear the heavy footsteps anymore, but a familiar scream made her stop. The red headed woman.

"No!" Lena heard the screams. "Please, no!"

She wanted to go back to her. But she couldn't. She didn't even have the chance to know her name. She took a deep breath and kept running. Her mouth started to get dry and her legs were burning, so she slowed down and started walking. She wasn't hearing the footsteps anyway.

Lena started touching the brick walls, instead of walking with her arms in front of her, it was less tiring for her. There was nothing but silence. And darkness. So much darkness Lena thought she was blind. She suddenly heard a growl in the distance. A familiar growl. _A walker growl_. She started to walk even slower, her heart racing. Her breathing was loud, echoing through the place. As she walked, the growls were growing louder and louder, until she could hear them, like she was in the front of it. She could smell it. The putrid smell of death.

She couldn't go back, or that thing was going to get her. She heard a sound of rope swinging, like if something was hanged and swinging around. She took a deep breath and raised her arms in front of her. Walking quickly, she felt her hand touch something soft and cold. The walker's growl was louder and she felt a pressure on her arm, followed by a cold liquid on her skin. She let out a gasp and fell to the ground; a light suddenly flashed and she could see the walker hanged by its neck on the ceiling. It had the lower jaw and the tip of the fingers on its hand cut off. Black walker blood from its finger was on Lena's shoulder and at the tiniest glance of it, her stomach churned. She felt her breakfast coming back so fast that she almost didn't have time to kneel. She hated that habit. The blood making her sick.

She breathed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She stood there, in all fours, for a while, breathing. She remembered the last time she was in that position, she was in bed with Merle. She scoffed at herself, sitting down and leaning her back on the wall. Her eyes were filled with tears and she wanted to cry. But she didn't get to do that. She had to fight, she had to get out of there if she wanted to see Merle again. It wasn't until she was standing up that she saw two bottles of water on the other side of the wall. With them, there was a note.

"_Drink."_

She almost laughed.

_Yeah, right. I'm not gonna drink that._

Then, she heard the heavy footsteps again. Her heart raced once more and she started running. Soon, it was dark again. She couldn't see, she just had to run. That's why mazes are made for, right? Mazes like this… Like the myth. They were made to kill. But it had to be a way out. And Lena was going to find it, even if she had to die trying.

~oOo~

"She woke up before ahead of schedule." The blonde man said, quietly to his boss that was sitting in an armchair in front of the monitor.

"Well, it's your fault for not giving her the M-99." The Boss answered in a calm voice.

"I- I thought…" He stuttered. "With the choke hold, she would stay unconscious-"

"Well, she's not, is she?!" He exclaimed, turning around to face him. The blonde man swallowed hard. "I hope that she's worth my four men, Travis. Because if she doesn't win, you'll be the one paying the price."

"She's smart." Travis breathed, making his boss look at the monitor again. "She chose the right path. The other girls chose the wrong one; she fooled our Minotaur."

"Let's hope she's the right one, then." The Boss said, in a low tone.

~oOo~

She didn't know for long she ran, but she didn't stop. The regret of not drinking that water was starting to creep her as she ran slower and slower. It was so much darkness. She thought she was going to lose her mind.

It wasn't until she saw the light that she didn't start to run faster. She thought it would be over, she thought she could run away and find her way back to Woodbury. The light blinded her as she passed through the door and she fell on her knees, breathing heavily, trying to calm herself down. After coughing and taking a deep breath several times, she finally took a look on the place. It looked like she was where the emergency stairs are at a normal building. She was already on the first floor, or at least she thought so. The only option was going up, since the way to down stairs was blocked with chairs, desks and even cabinets.

Even tired, with her throat dry and her wound pulsing in her arm, she forced herself to stand up and climb the stairs, swallowing hard. Sweat was dripping down her forehead, neck and back. She saw more chairs and desks and cabinets blocking her way up to the second floor. She had to go through the floor and find the exit. When she was about to open the door to the floor, she noticed a note on the wall. She picked it, reading the words.

"_If you're reading this, congratulations! You completed the first level of the Cretan Labyrinth. Only three more to go! You passed the darkness and now you will face the dead._

_Be careful with the Minotaur, he's always hungry for blood. Don't try to hide, you can't hide from him. Only run. You have to run, it's your only chance of getting out of the maze alive. Drink the water we give you, it will keep you alive. Don't try to fool the monster. He gets angry when someone plays with him. You _must_ follow these rules or you will be punished. _

_Play nice and you will get out. Your reward is your life."_

Lena frowned at the note and breathed heavily. Those people were mad, making her play the game, like her life was nothing. They didn't care if she died there, they just want her to play.

_Maybe they're watching me._

She looked up the corners of the ceiling and saw a camera there. _They were watching her._ All that time, they were probably watching her at the dark corridor too. They were playing with her. She gave the camera one angry look. If they wanted her to play, she would play. And she was determined to find the way out alive.

But when she opened the door, she wished she was still in the darkness.

Walkers were hanged by the feet on the ceiling, growling and trying to reach her. Black blood was dripping everywhere, like rain; then she noticed that all of them were missing the lower jaw and hands. There were so many of them, hanged like they were cattle… Like they were nothing. Those things were already people. She wondered if they killed them, or just picked them up on the street.

Lena covered her mouth and kneeled again to vomit. She knew she couldn't stay still for much longer. The Minotaur was going to kill her if she didn't move. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and started to run. The whole floor looked like a reception floor. Like if she was in some kind of hospital. She recognized; it was a large room, with an entry and an exit, with chairs and a large desk. She was in a hospital. Or something like a hospital. When she saw the exit door, she ran towards it and tried to open.

_Of course. I should've known better._

It was locked. She looked around and saw a door that led to a corridor. It wasn't dark, she could see a wheelchair and garbage all over the floor as she approached it. The more she walked, the more walkers she found. Chained on the walls, floor or furniture. They all tried to reach her, moaning and groaning, almost begging her to end their misery. She entered the corridor that led to a cafeteria. She wished she didn't. She wanted to go back, but it was the only way.

The beasts were chained in the chairs and tables, like they were having a meal. They were everywhere. Lena passed by them quickly, only to find more walkers. She wondered how many of them were there. They took the time to take all of their arms and hands off. They took the time to take their jaw off and the teeth. They were crazy.

She walked through the corridor, getting out of the cafeteria and saw a single walker at the end. Approaching it, she noticed the walker was chained in a gate grid. Its hands and teeth were intact, but it couldn't move, because its torso was involved by a chain that was keeping him tied in on the gate. It tried to reach her, when she approached it; she recognized the other door a few meters away, behind the walker. It was her exit, the door that led to another floor. She looked at the ground, searching for something that could kill the walker chained on the door. That one could kill her. She found a board, that was probably being used to block something, and smashed the beast's skull.

Quickly, she tried to open the door, but it was locked. She let out a groan in frustration and tried harder, making the walker's blood splatter on her.

"No, no!" She exclaimed, panting. "It's my only way out!"

She noticed a padlock on the gate; a note was written on it.

"_Find the key"_

"Find the key?!" She talked to herself. "How am I supposed to find the key in this fucking walker sea?"

She sighed and put her hands on her head, crouching on the floor. She couldn't stop, she had to keep running.

Behind her, there was a door. It was blocked by a table, but there was a small window above it, and she didn't think twice. She climbed on the table, squeezing through the small hole, and soon, she was on the other side of the door.

There was garbage and some mobile beds on the long corridor. The beds were the same type that they had on Woodbury's infirmary, confirming that she was in a hospital. All doors on the corridor were locked, so she was forced to move forward.

She turned left and saw another corridor with some wooden doors. And no walkers. She thought it was weird; the note said she was going to face the dead. But the only walkers she saw were the ones in the reception room and in the cafeteria.

Lena walked, opening the doors and looking for the key. When she was going to open the last door, she heard the heavy footsteps again. The Minotaur.

_How the hell did he got up here?_

She ended up forgetting about him, with all the walkers in the floor. She looked behind her, but it was already too late. He spotted her, from the end of the corridor and started to come towards her. She quickly opened the door, entering the room and closing the door behind her. She breathed, putting her back against the door and looking the room. There was an empty desk right beside her and when she looked up, she saw an air vent on the wall.

She didn't think twice and climbed the desk up, entering the air vent. She could hear the Minotaur banging on the door and started to crawl into the vent. It was dark and tight, Lena felt a little claustrophobic but she didn't stop. She kept crawling until she saw a way out. The vent she was in was too high from the floor, so there was no way to get out of there unless she threw herself. And when she did it, she sprained her ankle.

Lena let out a growl and then put her hands over her mouth to muffle the screams. It didn't break, she knew that, but she needed a moment to calm herself. She leaned her back on the wall and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. The room was dirty, empty, but she didn't dare to move. She was thirsty, hungry, tired and scared.

"Sadists." He mumbled to herself, knowing that whoever was behind the camera could hear her. "You're all a bunch of sadists."

She swallowed and with a shaky breathing, she stood up, trying to walk. She was limping a little, but it was fine. There was a door to get out of the room; Lena walked towards it and tried to pull herself together. She was starting to get dizzy. All she knew was that she had to keep moving. She had to get out of there.

Right beside the door, there was a dead walker and a light lighting it. It was lying on the floor, with its arms crossed on its chest. Lena could see it was a little girl before she turned. She looked at the white eyes and noticed something on its mouth. It was shiny and… It was the key. She quickly, took the key and stood up, looking around to any sign of the Minotaur near her. She couldn't climb the vent again, it was impossible for her. She had to take the other way around.

The corridor seemed way too quiet. There were no walkers' sounds of footsteps; the only sound Lena could hear was her own breathing. She walked back silently and slowly, lighting limping through the poor lighted hallway.

Then she heard it. The scream of the beast right behind her. She didn't stop to look behind, she just sprinted towards the door she had entered the place.

_Bad day to wear converse shoes._

By the time she reached the door, she climbed the desk to pass through the small opening. The Minotaur was so close to her that he almost grabbed her foot as she passed to the other side of the door. He let out a frustration scream when Lena hit the ground, hissing a little.

Hastily, she opened the gate and closed it right behind her, locking the padlock and putting the key on her pocket. That would keep the Minotaur way behind her. Running towards the door, she pushed open and didn't even mind on looking for notes or water. She just wanted to get out of there. At distance, she could hear the Minotaur scream. Laughing a little, she pushed the door to the next floor open.

And her smile disappeared.

~oOo~

"She broke the rules!" Gale said, standing up from his seat.

"No, but she's nice!" His sister, Brenda, said, grabbing his arm. The big flat TV was settled in front of all seats and there were a dozen of people watching it. The Boss was sitting right at the end, watching not the "show", but people's reactions.

"Your brother is right, she fooled the beast." Cole said from his seat. "She must be punished."

"No!" Kate said, standing up. "She's the only one who made it that far, I wanna know what's in the floor three."

A few people agreed with and a small discussion started to echo the place. The Boss stood up, raising his left hand and making them all shut up.

"Let's do a voting." He suggested. "Who wants her to be punished?"

Gale, Cole and other two people raised their hands.

"Who doesn't want her to be punished?" He asked and the rest of them raised their hands, including Travis. The Boss just nodded and sat back on his seat. "Let the game continue."

A few sighs of frustrations were let and the Boss smirked. "Maybe she's the one."

~oOo~

So much blood. So many dead people. Hanged on the ceiling, on the floor, nailed on the walls. There were even large wooden sticks with walkers' heads on it. All of them died from the same thing: the throat was sliced. Lena didn't know how they didn't become walkers and, being honest, she didn't want to. Covering her mouth with both hands, she pressed her back against the wall and slid down, kneeling on the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at the countless bodies. Feeling her stomach churn, she leaned her hands on the floor and vomited something green and bitter. Of course. There was nothing else left on her stomach to puke.

She heard the scream from the Minotaur once more, but stood still.

_Maybe I should let him get me. And kill me. Then it would be over…_

She wiped her mouth and sighed. "Dammit." She whispered. "I'm gonna die here." More tears streamed down her face.

In her mind, all she could think of was Merle. She was gonna die and the last memory of him she had, was from his dick. At least he was going to remind of her in a happy way. The corner of her lips curved a little with that thought. She wondered what he was doing in that moment. She didn't know. He was unpredictable. She never knew what was in his mind.

She suddenly stood up, feeling a little dizzy again.

"I'm not gonna die here." She said out loud. "You hear me?!" She screamed. "I'm gonna get out!"

Trying to ignore all the corpses, she walked straight to a hallway. She heard the familiar heavy footsteps behind her and started to running. She was getting tired of that. Running and running. All she had to do was run. But what if she could _kill_ him, instead? She had to try. Maybe she could beat him in the head. She had to find something heavy. And it probably would be hard to beat him with that fucking mask on. She was good with a baseball bat, but nothing could beat a helmet. She had to stab him with something. With anything. Maybe those wooden sticks, back at near the door.

Lena tried to dodge the Minotaur by turning left and then entering in a room, really quick. She found a wardrobe and shoved herself inside of it. Her breath was loud and uneven, so she covered her mouth to keep it quiet. The Minotaur walked past the room she was in and disappeared on the shadows of the corridor; Lena stood inside of the closet for a while, waiting for him to get distracted. In her head she made the plan. Whoever was making her play that game wasn't going to be very happy with her. So she had to try to escape. They weren't just going to let her go after she complete the last level. They were making her going up, and not down.

Quietly, she opened the wardrobe door and walked slowly back to the room with the dead bodies. She swallowed hard as she walked towards one of the sticks. The heads growled and moaned towards her; only then she realized that all the head s had long hair, like they were woman before they were killed. She let out a loud gasp when she looked at the last head on the row. It had long red hair and it looked like it was killed recently.

It was the girl she met on the first floor.

Lena tried to pull herself back together. She had to, or she would die pretty soon. The sticks were leaned against a wall and she just needed one. Carefully, she removed the girl's head from the stick and placed it on the floor. She picked up the stick, which was almost high as her own height but surprisingly light, and then the head again. She put the head on the second room on the right side of the hallway and entered the first on the left side and left the door ajar.

She waited. She waited and waited and waited. Her breathing was normal and quiet now, but just in case, she kept her mouth shut. Eventually, the Minotaur walked through the hallway, like she planned. He heard the walker's growls and turned around towards the room, with his back turned to Lena. She stepped out of her room and walked towards him.

"Hey, fucker." She called, making him turn to face her.

She, then, dug the wooden piece on his chest, making him step back and drop his weapon. She fought against the nausea and walked towards him, digging the wooden piece even more on him; he fell on the floor, and Lena knelt in front of him, taking his mask off.

She saw a young face, with green eyes, black hair and freckles. He was coughing blood and looked at her with scared eyes. It wasn't until he spoke that her heart dropped on her chest.

"Thank you." He said, taking his last deep breath.

He wasn't part of the game. He was also playing the game. Lena's breath started to increase and she swallowed hard. She killed and innocent. He was following orders, maybe he was being forced to chase her and kill her. Rage filled her chest and she stood, picking the "Minotaur"'s axe and walking out of the room. She looked straight to the camera on the corner of the corridor and gave it an angry look.

"You kidnapped the wrong fucking girl." It was all she said, before smashing it with the axe.

~oOo~

"He's awake." Martinez said to the guy who came to his consciousness. After they came back to the town, Merle had dragged him to the warehouse behind the infirmary and put him in one of the rooms, tied into a chair. Merle sat in a chair in front of him, waiting for him to wake up.

When Philip heard that a group had kidnapped Lena, he told Merle to do what was necessary for the man soil out any information about that group. Lena was an important member for the town and the only person who could control the women at the place. But it wasn't only about her, of course it wasn't. In his mind, she was already dead. He just had to find who did that and kill them. He didn't need a reason. He just wanted to kill them. So he let Merle use the warehouse and make him speak. He had to find out who were they.

"You passed out when we nailed your dick on the chair." Martinez kept talking. The man was with his hands tied on the arms of the chair and legs to the legs of it. When he looked down to his own crouch, he swallowed hard. Martinez laughed. "Nah, we didn't do that."

"Yet." Merle said without looking at him, sharpening his bayonet of his metallic arm.

"Yeah, it was Merle's idea." He pointed to the one handed man. "Which leads us to the point of this."

He slowly walked towards the empty chair that was in front of the man and sat on it.

"Where's Lena?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

The man sat in silence, refusing to talk. Merle glanced at Martinez and both shared an understanding look. The Latino gave the older a nod, and Merle stood up slowly, walking towards the man.

"What's your name?" Martinez tried again.

The man didn't talk. Merle punched him on the stomach, making him cry out.

"My friend here asked you a question." Merle said, approaching his face to the man's. The coughed for a while and took a deep breath.

"Louis." He answered, panting, with a British accent.

Merle chuckled. "We've got a British muffin over here."

Martinez laughed and then went serious. "Where's Lena?"

No response. Another punch. On the face. The good thing was that Merle was left handed. And with his right hand missing, he could punch the guy until he talked.

"Ain't got all day, Muffin." Merle said, with a rough voice. Louis started laughing, with his head down.

"No, mate." He raised his head to look at Merle. "You have. She doesn't."

Merle punched him in the day face once. And then again. And again. The rage was filling up his chest so much that he didn't listen Martinez telling him to stop. He only stopped attacking the man when he felt Martinez's hands, holding his arms.

"He won't serve us dead." Martinez said to his older man looked at him, furious. But he was right. He couldn't kill Louis. He had to know where Lena was. He had to get her, he couldn't let her die. He felt a twinge on his heart that made him growl.

There was a reason for all this. There was a reason for him to act like that. He knew there was. He just didn't know what was. All he knew is that Lena made him… Happy. Maybe even complete.

Merle took a deep breath as Martinez turned away from him. He raised his bayonet, showing Louis (who was already with a bloody nose) what he had.

"Then, you better start speaking." He said in a rough voice.

"Where is she?" Martinez said once more.

Louis didn't reply. Merle punched him again. That scenario kept going for the next hour, until Louis' left eye was swollen and two of his teeth were broken. His lips had several cuts and there was one in his right eyebrow. But he didn't speak.

"Bring the tools." Merle said, looking at the bloody knuckles on his hands. When Martinez left, leaving Merle alone with Louis, the younger man kept staring at the older. Merle pretended he didn't notice, but of course he did.

"I see why this girl is important for you." Louis said, still looking at Merle.

Merle felt the anger fill in his chest again, but he tried to control himself.

"I saw what she did to you back at the pharmacy." He kept talking.

Merle slowly looked at him and narrowed his eyes at the British man.

"I get it, you just want to get your dick wet." Louis gave him a half smile. "God knows if she's the last woman in the world, right? Well, she's not. There's plenty other ones you can use."

Merle's breathing started to increase and he slowly approached Louis, with a serious expression on his face.

"But this one is different, isn't she?" Louis kept talking, despite the threatening look on Merle's face. "You care about her. You _like_ her. But you don't wanna admit it." A short pause in silence hovered the air. "They're not gonna rape her, you know." Louis shrugged. "But they can always change their minds."

That was it. Merle couldn't take it anymore. He attacked the man, punching him several times on her face.

When Martinez entered the room with the tools, Louis was unconscious and Merle was sitting on his chair. Martinez looked at him with a perplex look on his face.

"He's alive." It was the only thing Merle said.

~oOo~

"Keep it up, man." Merle said to a half unconscious Louis. "'S not like I took an eye out."

It was the second finger he had cut off from the man and he was almost passing out. Merle was starting to lose his patience. He wanted to take an eye or a hand out of him. He didn't have time to take finger by finger out. They were waisting time and Lena could be dead by that time.

A million things were passing through Merle's head. They could be torturing her, raping her, slowly killing her. Only the thought of living without her made him nervous. Made him sad. Made his stomach churn. He couldn't live without Daryl _and_ her. She was just as important to him as Daryl was.

"We're getting there." He kept talking as he picked another tool. "Could be easier, y'know." He picked a pointed one. "You could just say where she is." He looked at Louis, who was looking to the tools on the table. "No? Alright." Merle dropped the pointed tool and grabbed the pliers again. "Another finger it is."

"No, no!" Louis cried.

"What was that, Muffin?" Merle raised his eyebrows to him.

Louis looked at him, but didn't speak. Merle nodded, grinning and approached him. Martinez was behind the prisoner, holding his hand down, to make easier for Merle to cut his finger off.

By the end of the day, Louis only had five fingers left. The sun was starting to set and Martinez was getting tired. The man wasn't going to talk. Not now. They had to give the guy some time. Some time to get comfortable until the next time, maybe he would talk.

"I ain't resting until he talks." Merle said.

"Man, let's go give the guy a break, make him think it's over-" Martinez tried to reason.

"No fucking way." Merle answered. "Every goddamn second we waste with him, is another second of torture for her!"

Martinez stared at him for a while, before speaking.

"What if she's dead, Merle?"

Merle looked at him with his serious expression he had on his face since that morning. "Then, I'll have the pleasure to kill the motherfuckers that killed her.

~oOo~

"Aaand, another one." Merle said, dropping the pliers with Louis' tooth on it.

Merle didn't know what he was doing anymore. That wasn't him and he knew that. But he had to do that. He had to make him suffer. He had to find Lena. So he did what he had to.

He cut all of his fingers off, of the hands and foot. Beat the shit out of him. He even nailed his dick to the chair, like had promised. But Louis still didn't speak.

"You're gonna speak now?" Merle asked him, once more.

Louis was all bruised and bloody; he couldn't take it anymore. He had to talk; he had to tell him. He was going to die anyway.

"We don't…" The British breathed. "We didn't want to do that to… To those girls…"

Merle frowned, but didn't do anything.

"It was always… The Boss." He kept saying. "He made us… Drive them insane… Then kill them."

Merle grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him close. "Where?!" He was losing his patience again.

"Please, no more!" Louis cried. "No more pain, please, please! I'm begging you!"

"Then fucking tell me where she is!"

Tears streamed down on Louis' face and Merle sighed, letting go of his shirt. He sat on the table and picked up the pliers again.

"No, no!" Louis started to protest. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

Merle stopped moving.

"Just please… No more."

~oOo~

Lena still didn't know how she got caught. She was trying to escape, she knew that. She killed another one of them. A black, tall man this time. She was at the first floor again and then everything went black. And there was she was. Tied up and being tortured. She could see, despite the pain on her back, people looking at her. They weren't much, just half a dozen or even less.

The cage she was in was humiliating. Her hands were cuffed on its grids and she was shaking from the cold. They had teared her clothes apart and burnt her with a hot metal. Tears were streaming down her face and she just wanted to die. She wanted the pain to go away.

She closed her eyes shut and let out a scream when felt the hot iron touch her skin again.

"This is what happens when you don't follow the rules." The Boss said to her, crouched and grabbing the grid of the cage. "You get punished."

She looked at him with an angry expression on her face. Panting and crying, she tried to spit on his face. And obviously missed. He laughed at her with a terrifying smile.

"Pathetic."

He raised the iron he was holding and then everything went black again.

~oOo~

"What did he say?" Philip asked as he drove through the road, with Merle and Martinez on the car. It was already and Merle was irritated. They lost too much time picking the ones who would go with them to save Lena.

"To use the emergency stairs." Martinez answered, checking once more on his gun. "Go straight for the terrace. She's supposed to be there."

"Have we considered the option that he could be lying?" He asked again, after a silence.

"Yes." Merle answered, from the backseat. "That's why I didn't kill him yet."

The three men went in silence, Just the sound of Martinez checking his gun. Louis hadn't told them about the floors and what did they do to those they kidnapped, but he told them it was important to burn the place down. He told them they weren't worth living.

When Philip heard that, he considered the possibility of Lena being dead. But still, he gathered most of, if not all, of his men to go to the place. He didn't know how it was, but he did know they're weak. Louis told them it was about dozen of them, without counting the ones they killed at the pharmacy. But still… If dozen people could kill those girls… They didn't deserve to live.

~oOo~

When Lena came back to conciseness, the first thing she felt was a tight knot on her wrist. They had tied her down this time. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was that she was in some kind tank. A strait tank made of glass. She was still in front of the same half of dozen people; she couldn't take it anymore. Being humiliated and tortured in front of everyone. She just wanted it to stop.

Her breathe started to increase once she saw the large pipe that was pointed to her. Realization of what they were going to do with her came to her and she got desperate. Standing up, she noticed her hands were tied to the ground, making her back curve a little when standing. She, then, knew she was going to die.

"No." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

The Boss showed up in front of her, with a creepy smile. This time, fear was in her eyes and she shook her head. He nodded to her, without saying a word. After a second or two just staring at her, he put his hand on the glass, like if he was trying to approach her.

"Travis told me what you did to that other man in the pharmacy." He said in a low tone. "You're just a little whore, huh?"

Turning his back to her to face the tiny crowd, he yelled:

"She's a whore!"

People were scared. They had never witnessed such a cruelty act like that. None of the girls had survived that far to break the rules, so they hadn't seen what the Boss was capable to do. Until that night.

"Whore!" The Boss yelled once more.

"Whore!" Gale repeated, hesitant. Soon all of them were yelling and calling Lena names. The Boss turned to face her again.

"You think he cares about you?" He asked. "You think he loves you? You're just a piece of ass for him. You're just a little fuck-hole. You're nothing. Nothing to him."

Lena felt tears forming in her eyes as she breathed heavily, shaking her head.

"That's not true." She said in a small voice.

"It is, and you know it." He replied to her. "By killing you I'll be doing you a favor."

She shook her head desperately, putting her hands on the glass. He nodded at her, walking away.

"No!" She exclaimed. "No, please!"

She looked at the people watching her as water started to come out of the pipe. It was so cold, she started shivering in the moment the liquid touched her skin.

"Please!" She continued to beg, with tears streaming down her face. "Please, I know you're not like him!" She told them. "Please, just let me go, please!"

Travis looked at the desperate girl in the tank and felt guilty. She looked right into his eyes, shaking her head and begging. He didn't know what the Boss was capable of and in that night, he saw it. He saw the beast that was hidden behind the mask. And he immediately regretted of working for him. But what could he do? Try to save the girl and get killed in the process? He couldn't do shit. So he just watched her getting more and more desperate.

The water was in her neck now and there was nothing she could do. She was going to die there. She gave up screaming and begging, and just waited for the moment. She had never thought about death. It never crossed her mind what it would be like getting bitten or killed. She didn't think she would die soon. Not after she started living in Woodbury. Not after she stopped just surviving and started also _living_.

"_We gotta do what we need to survive." Merle said to her as they were sitting in one of the walls, taking a break._

_Lena looked at the empty streets and shook her head._

"_I'm tired of just surviving." She whispered so low he almost didn't hear it._

_He looked at her, not sure of what to do. He could see she was feeling down for a couple of days now. He noticed she wasn't talking like she use to or smiling and laughing at everything. He felt like she was becoming someone else. _

"_Well, there's a whole town here." He said, after a while. "You can make friends, maybe?"_

_Lena looked at him with an annoyed expression._

"_A whole town of old people? Really?"_

_Merle chuckled, making Lena give a small smile. That's what he wanted to see. A smile, even if it was the smallest. Hesitant, he put his hand on top of hers. That was when she knew. She was starting to have feelings for him._

"_You're gon' be fine, Cherry." He said in a low tone._

"_We." She said, after a second in silence, making him look at her. "We're going to be fine." She smiled at him._

Lena held back on the memory as her head pounded. She wasn't going to make it. Her heart was beating fast as she tried not to release the last breath of her life. She couldn't hear anything anymore. She just wanted to be over.

The water started filling her lungs. And then she knew it. It was time. The last thing she heard before she black out, was muffled gunshots and screams.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: AAAAAAAA, I FOUND IT! I thought I had lost this. Everytime I tried to write a new chapter, my computer would go crazy and would delete all the files from it (I wish I was lying, but happened twice.).

I think from now on I'll be only focusing Lena's pov. I will get back to Merle once in a while, but I just feel like it's easier for me to write about her side of the story for now.

I also decided to focus on the relationships of the story (Merle and Lena, Michonne and Lena, Martinez and Lena) instead of the actual zombies for now. Just for now. Life at Woodbury can be pretty boring if you think about it.

But anyway!

I'm not sure if im going to keep writing this, tho. If you like video games (until dawn) check my newest fic (about until dawn) on my profile. It's different from what I'm writing here (mostly bc until dawn is WAY cooler than twd. Also Josh Washington. Reblog if u agree) and idk man, I really like writing fucked up characters.

bYE

~ooOOoo~

Lena woke up with a shaky gasp and a heavy breathing. Sweat was dripping on her forehead; she grabbed the sheets as she quickly sat on the bed. As she tried to take deep breaths, just like Doctor Alice told her to do, memories from that horrible day came to her mind and she tried to brush them away.

She couldn't remember how many time had passed since the incident; since then, she actually didn't care about time that much. The wound on her arm was already healed. Now, there was only a nasty scar on the place of a very deep cut.

"You okay?" Merle's voice made her jump scared; she looked at him with tearstains on the cheeks. She blinked slowly to him and shook her head.

"No." Trembling, her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

"C'mere." He sat on the bed and reached out for her. The bed was small, but Lena still was in the very edge of it. "Hey."

His voice was authoritarian this time. Lena kept staring his light blue eyes. Swallowing hard, she slowly moved towards him. His arms were like a soft, comfortable bed for her. She had already admitted to herself, Merle was the reason why she was sane.

After all, he was the one who saved her from those crazy fucks several weeks ago.

But she was changed, he knew that. Whatever they did to her in that place... She wasn't the same anymore. Of course she wouldn't speak of it. She wouldn't tell him what happened then. Or anyone.

I guess he could say he wasn't the same either. He never thought he would be so over protective for someone that wasn't his little brother. All that time wasted with whores and women he'd met on bars, he wouldn't imagine the one he'd fall for a little one, so vulnerable, so fragile that he had to protect at all costs. He was amazed with himself, he had changed _a lot. _

_Just not too much. _

It was clear now to everyone at Woodbury. Lena was Merle's. And nobody would touch her without his consent. Nobody would even talk to her, unless he knew. He wouldn't let her go out of the town on her own. He wouldn't let her wonder around the town on her own. He _owned_ her.

Of course she had her ways of slipping away Merle's wings. Especially in a time like that, when a few members of the Governor's "club" were starting not to trust the leader. And they were right.

Philip only gave privileges to Merle and Lena and no one else. Merle more than Lena. She knew what they did on their own. Both making plans, sharing the throne, telling people and soldiers what to do, feeling like the king of the world.

She knew Philip wasn't good news.

She knew a lot of things. She knew Karen talked shit about Merle and Lena behind her back. She knew Ms. Davidson tried to commit suicide, by taking all the sleeping pills at once in a rainy night. She knew Matt, the dark skinned boy, with blue eyes, who lived near the square was into Celine, the most recent member of the community.

She knew Celine was fucking Merle.

She knew Merle was cheating on her. She had eyes and ears everywhere. And people who'd tell her shit.

When she got back to the town with second-degree burns in the back and bruises in the entire body, people started to kiss her ass. Mostly they were just curious, but she knew the true intention behind the flowers and the "get well soon" bullshit. They wanted to know what was like outside. What kind of people they would have to face if they leave the community.

She became friends with a few of them, but the only one who kept visiting her, even after she was better, was Martinez. He was the one who stayed. If people didn't know she was with Merle, they would think they were dating. Both were always laughing and training, having lunch, or even going out for scavenges together. When Lena found out about Merle and Celine, Martinez was the one who wiped the tears off her face.

It was ironic that the best friend of her boyfriend was the one who made her feel better. Don't get me wrong, Merle also made her feel good, but Martinez was always there for her. Merle wasn't.

But she couldn't let him go. He, after all, was the one who held her at night when she had nightmares.

Inhaling Merle's scent, shaving cream and soap, she buried her face on his neck. Even though all the shit, that was where she belonged. On his arms. And she knew, it didn't matter what he did, it didn't matter how much he'd hurt her, she would never let him go.

~oOo~

Nine or ten days had passed since Lena had her last nightmare. She was sitting at the kitchen table with Martinez, trying once more to convince him that she was right.

"You know it's true." She said, taking another spoon of her cereal with no milk.

"I don't believe you." He said with a serious expression.

"Well, blame Milton." She shrugged. "He was the one who put the idea on my head."

"Don't you think it's a little exaggerated?"

Lena frowned at him, shocked.

"Martinez, you saw what he does outside." she put her spoon on the table. "Since I was kidnapped, he's been different, and you're the one who should see this more than anyone else!"

He nodded, chewing his food. "What 'bout Merle?"

The girl stares at his eyes for a moment, then looked at the table, sighing.

"He still bothering you about-"

"Yes." she interrupted him, looking at his eyes.

"Y'know." He leaned his arms on the table. "Sometimes... Talking about it, is the best-"

"I don't care." She cut him off again. "I don't wanna talk about it."

She didn't want to cry, but her eyes started fill up with tears.

"Lena, you know you can trust me." He touched her hand on the table.

There was so much she wanted to say. So many things she wanted to get off her chest. But she just couldn't. She had realized that the past is past. She couldn't change what happened.

Martinez reached out for her face, touching the scar on her cheek. For a moment, she thought about it. She knew that talking about that horrible day wouldn't change the fact that it happened, but it would make her feel better. But she didn't want to. She didn't want to feel better, because that kept her awake. What they did to her, it was what kept her smart. It was what made her not to trust _anyone. _Not even him. Not even Philip. Not even the Governor.

"I wasn't talking about that." She took his hand and placed on the table. "I was talking about the Governor, okay. And how he's not the same guy who saved Merle and I on the highway."

"Lena-"

"You know that!" She exclaimed and both were quieted for a moment. "We should do something."

"What- Hey." He interrupted her even before she started talking. "Listen to yourself. You're thinking about taking down the man who founded this town? Did you forget that the people here think that he's actually a good person? We can't just... Force him to leave the throne, you said it yourself, he's mad as fuck!"

Lena gave him a half smiled and he frowned. "We?" She asked.

Martinez sighed.

"So you _do_ agree with me!" She let out a laugh.

"I do _think_ he's not the same man than before…"

Lena tried not to smile. "Okay. It's a start."

"Take this smile off yer face, Mackling." Martinez mocked, doing an impression of Merle.

"Ha-ha." She said, standing up. "Well, I need to hit the shower."

"Oh, almost forgot." He called her. "Celine wanted to see you."

Lena frowned. "Celine? Why?"

He shrugged. "She said she wanted to ask you something."

"Oh… Okay… Anyway, if you see Merle, tell him I said hi. Didn't see him today."

"Aw, you miss him?" He mocked her.

"Shut up!" She shook her head, walking towards the bathroom. "Close the door when you leave."

Closing the bathroom door, she leaned on it, taking a deep breath. Why would Celine want to talk to her? Lena never talked to that girl, not even once. Maybe she wanted something. Brag about Merle wanting her more than Lena? Tell her to back off from him? There were so many questions in her head; she was even a little scared.

"Okay, okay, relax." She said to herself, taking another deep breath. "Is just a slut… A whore. That's… Stealing my man… No big deal."

_I'm not scared of her… Am I?_

~oOo~

"You want what?!" Lena asked to Celine in complete shock. "A pregnancy test?!"

"Shhh!" The blonde girl answered, almost whispering. "Yes. And can you please not tell anyone?"

Lena wanted to bitch slap that girl. And then punch her. And scream and run to Merle and punch him. And then she wanted to leave the town and cry her eyes out and let a walker eat her. But she just took a deep breath, closing her eyes, trying to relax.

"Okay." She replied and sighed. "I'm going to a supply run, then."

"Will Merle let you go out?"

_Don't you speak his name in front of me, bitch._

"I don't need his permission to go out." She answered, after taking another deep breath, extremely annoyed with the girl.

Before Celine could answer, Lena was already in the front door of the apartment.

"You'll have your… Thing… By the end of the day." She said without looking for the blonde.

As she walked towards the quarters, Joey went in her direction.

_Ah, great._

"Hey!" He said, walking with her. "Big fight this week, huh?"

Lena sighed. "Yeah, whatever. I'm not gonna participate anyway."

"You know, I still don't get it why you stopped fighting."

"Ah, it was too much for my head. It still is." She let out a laugh. "It was a stupid idea."

"What?"

"Putting walkers in the wrestling?" She shook her head. "What was I thinking?"

"Oh, come on." He complained. "It's fun."

Lena looked at him dead in the eye. "It's dangerous."

"Yeah, but… People love it."

"That's the problem!" She stopped walking, making him stop too. "They love the walkers! They don't see any danger on them. They should know messing around with them is not safe." She sighed. "What happens if this town is overrun? They don't even know who to protect themselves."

"Hey, look." He stepped closer to her. "The town is not gonna be overrun, okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "It will eventually. More the people, more the walkers."

"Morgan!" Merle's voice echoed in the street. "Something's up."

He walked towards them; Lena frowned, worried about him. Suddenly, all her anger was gone and all she wanted to do was kiss the man and never let him go. That's what she hated about him. She was so deeply depended of the man that he made her forget why she was mad.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, we just catch a helicopter sign and it crashed." He replied putting his hand on his hip.

"Oh."

"We're gonna take a look, see if there's any survivors."

Joey started to walk away from them when Merle called.

"We're going in two cars. Get Martinez and the others!"

"Yes, sir." He replied.

"Missed you this morning." Lena said, catching Merle's attention.

"Yeah, I had a thing to do. With the Gov'nor." He didn't smile when talking to her.

She nodded giving a smirk. "Well, take care… Please."

"Will do." He grinned at her and leaned for a kiss.

She watched him leave and felt a weight on her heart. It was a love-hate relationship. At least for her.

~oOo~

"You know I can't let you go." The guy who was watching the gates, whatever was his name, said to Lena, who was already in the car to make her supply run.

She sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. "Listen, pal." She said, annoyed. "I had a pretty bad day, and it's only midday. Make this easy for me, please."

He shook his head. "Can't let you go. Orders from Merle."

_Merle doesn't tell me what to do._

She sighed again. "I'm gonna be honest with you." She swallowed. "I think I'm pregnant. And I really don't wanna find that out when I start growing fat. I need a pregnancy test, okay. Help me to figured this out."

The man sighed and shook his head, walking towards the gate and opening it. Lena shouted a 'thank you' for the man and drove quickly, looking for pharmacy near by. When she found it, she spent a few minutes in the car.

She didn't cry. All she could feel was anger. All she wanted was to never come back to Woodbury.

When she finally left the car, she entered the place and checked for walkers. After clearing up, she took a plastic bag from the cashier and started walking around, trough the shelves. The place was untouched; most of the missing stuff was just food and some drinks, and the rest of it was perfectly put in their places.

When she finally found a pregnancy test, she sighed and picked one up. Looking at the box, she wasn't reading it, but thinking on the next step. She was going to give it to Celine and would mind her own business.

However…

If she was really pregnant, it was obvious that Merle wasn't going to assume the baby. So the blonde girl would have to live with a child on her own in a world full of dead-living. She didn't know she was crying until she saw drops of tears on the box she was holding.

_Goddammit, Merle. What did you do?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound on the outside. It was a motorcycle. The loudest sound she ever heard echoed the surroundings… And it stopped.

"Shit." She whispered, running to the back of the store and hiding behind a shelf.

As she expected, someone entered the pharmacy, slowly, looking for some sign of walker. Trying to stay calm, she heard a whistle. Just for a second, she thought more people were going to enter the pharmacy, but there was no response. At the second whistle, the louder one, she realized why they were whistling.

_Checking for walkers. Smart._

Lena peeked a little to see whom she was dealing it. She couldn't tell if it was a bad person only for their looks, but she could have an idea. She saw nothing but a leather vest with wings on it. When he turned around, she hid again, quickly.

_Okay, okay, it's okay. Don't panic. Just wait for him to leave._

Her plan was going to work, if it wasn't for the walker that just entered the place. He didn't notice; was too busy picking up all the food he could hold in one hand. Lena opened her mouth to warn him, but closed right away, remembering what happened last time she encountered strangers.

Daryl didn't see it coming. One split of a second before the walker attack him he turned around. But it was already too late. The thing was one step ahead of him, and all he could do was let go of the food and try to grab his crossbow. Only if it was an inch closer, he could save himself. But he couldn't.

At the very last moment, when he thought he wasn't going to make it, something happened.

Lena grabbed the walker by its clothes and pulled it from Daryl with a strength she didn't know where it came from. The walker that was shoved behind obviously started to walk in her direction, but she quickly grabbed her baseball bat and hit it. When it fell on the floor, she hit it once more, making blood splatter all around.

It took one second to Daryl process what had happened and grab his crossbow. It also took one second for Lena to vomit whatever was in her stomach on the floor.

_Goodbye, Frootloops._

A silence followed in the place, they could only hear the heavy breathing of Lena, when she realized what she just had done. She had saved a stranger's life. _A stranger's life._

_Oh, my God._

Acting without thinking, she pulled her Imanishi 17, the white gun she hadn't used in weeks, from her belt and pointed directly to him. Realizing the intentions of the girl, Daryl aimed his crossbow to her and they stood like that for five, maybe six seconds before he broke the silence:

"You saved my life so you could kill me yourself?"

His voice was rough, and his eyes reminded her of Merle, of course, but there was something different on them. Much like kindness, but different.

_Honesty._

Uncocking her gun, she lowered and cleaned her throat.

"Sorry." It was nothing more than a whisper.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he slowly lowered his crossbow. Looking at the girl who saved his life, he felt sorry for her. He didn't know why. Maybe it was the tearstains on her cheeks, or maybe the scar on her face. Or maybe it was the sadness he saw in her eyes. He felt some sort of compassion for her.

Without saying a word, he turned around and started to gather his food. Lena watched him for a moment before speaking.

"I never did that." Her voice was weak, almost like she was afraid of him.

He turned on his heels to look at her. "Did what?"

His tone was a little aggressive, and fear instantly crept her heart, making her turn her head to side, revealing the scar on her cheek. Daryl's heart softened a little.

"S- Saved a stranger's life."

She walked towards the shelf to get another pregnancy test for Celine, which she quickly put in her plastic bag. She wanted to get out of there, now she just wanted to be save. She didn't want to go through hell again. Without saying another word, she picked up her baseball bat and rushed to the front door.

"Hey!" Daryl called her before she could leave. Lena stopped walking and tears started to cumulate on her eyes. "Hey, girl." He walked closer to her.

Her hand tightened the baseball bat as she slowly turned around, looking at those familiar blue eyes.

"Thanks." He said with the most honesty in the world.

She nodded.

"You're welcome."

~oOo~

It was already night when Merle and the others came back. Lena was helping Doctor Stevens to organize some medicines in the medicine closet when they came into the infirmary with two outsiders.

"Can you close the closet?" He asked, giving the key to her. "I'm being called…"

"Yeah, sure, go ahead." She replied, taking the keys and watching him leave.

Looking at the uncountable bottles of medicine in the shelves of the tiny closet, she ran her fingers through them looking for one specifically. When she found it, she put it in the pocket and closed the door, locking it.

Walking through the hallways, she heard a familiar voice; Merle's voice echoed inside a bedroom and she stopped to hear it.

"You've seen my brother?" He said.

"Not for a long time." A feminine voice answered.

"Makes two of us."

"He went back for you and the girl. He and Rick." She said. "You were already gone."

"Yeah, well." He laughed, mocking her. "Not all of me."

There were a small pause and Merle laughed again.

"Yeah… Rick." He said. "He's that prick that cuffed me to the roof top."

"Yeah…" She said. "He… Tried. Daryl saw that."

"He's always been the sweet one, my baby brother."

_Yeah, no shit, Merle._

"He wanted to keep looking." The voice continued. "But things happened. People died. A lot of them… Jim, Dale, Jacqui, Carol's daughter Sophia… Amy."

"Your sister?" Merle asked. There was a silence.

"Yes." The voice was small, like if she was trying not to cry.

"She was a good kid." He said.

_Were you fucking her too?_

"I'm sorry to hear." He continued.

"There were more… A lot more. We had to leave Atlanta, we ended up on a farm… Daryl stepped up. Became a valued member of the group."

"He dead?"

"I dunno that for sure. We got ran off by a herd."

"How long ago?"

"About… Eight months ago?" Pause. "I was separated from the rest of 'em. Got left behind… I know what feels like."

"I doubt that."

There was a silence.

"What do you want from us?"

"Wow." Lena said, making all in the room look at her. Merle smirked at her and Andrea just frowned. "Here she is, four walls around her, a roof over her head, a place to sleep, medicine in her veins and… You want to know what we want from you? " She walked into the room. "Most people say 'thank you' and go to bed happy to be resting their heads on fluffy pillow instead of a rock."

Andrea looked in shock to Lena.

"There you are." He reached his arms to Lena. "Have you met Lena?"

"Oh, she has." Lena said, looking at Andrea. "_'We came here to get supplies, not help little girls!'_" She imitated Andrea's voice, remembering every single detail from that day. "Tell me, _Andrea._ How's my brother _Rick_?"

"We know he's not your brother." She replied.

"Oh, he told you our little secret? Well, I don't think he would be a good brother, though. Family doesn't leave each other behind, right?"

"Cherry-"

"No, tell me." Lena interrupted Merle. "Was he a good leader?"

Andrea stared at the girl for a moment and then sighed. "Like I said, he tried."

"Ah, he realized that being the good cop wasn't going to work out, didn't he?"

There was a silence in the room, followed by a snort from Merle. However, Lena didn't take her eyes off Andrea. With a fake smile, she said the final words:

"Enjoy your stay."

When she turned around, her smile instantly disappeared. Bumping lightly into the Governor in the hallway, she didn't even stop to apologize and kept walking. Merle followed her, but Philip stopped him to whisper in his ear.

Lena was already out of the infirmary, marching her way up to her apartment. Slamming the door behind her, she searched through her jacket pockets for the small bottle of medicine.

As she sat on the table, she put the bottle on the table and stared at it. She didn't know how long she was sitting there, just lost in her thoughts, making plans that would never work. She wanted to escape. She wanted to leave. She wanted to disappear from there and never come back. She wanted to _die_.

Her hand reached for the bottle, but the front door opening interrupted her. Quickly, she grabbed the bottle and shoved it in her pocket. Merle stared at her for a moment.

"What?" She asked, crossing her arms on her chest.

"Sean came talk to me few minutes ago." He replied.

"Who?" She frowned.

"Y'know, the guy who guards the gate."

Lena's head pounded and her heart raced. She tried to conceal her fear by turning around and walking to the kitchen.

"Oh." She said as she took a bottle of water from the fridge with trembling hands.

"Where'd you been all day?"

God, she hated when Merle played like that. He'd always make her say something he wanted her to.

"Uh, at the library." She said taking a huge gulp of the water.

"Funny." He started to stand up. "Because he said you begged him to let you out."

Lena's breathing was unsteady now. She didn't understand why was so hard to lie to him.

"Where'd you go?" He asked getting closer to her, with a furious look on his face.

"No- Nowhere."

"Don't lie to me, Lena."

As he got closer and closer, Lena started to sweat. But then she thought about something. If Merle was lying to her, why couldn't she lie to him?

"I went…" She started telling him, with a little uncertain on her heart.

_To get a pregnancy test for your other girlfriend._

She swallowed the words she didn't even say. And then sighed.

"I went to get pregnancy test." She confessed. "I'm late."

Merle closed his eyes and sighed. "Well, are ya?"

There was a silence and a moment of tension between them.

"No." She said after shaking her head.

He nodded. "Better not be." He turned around and walked towards the door. "Told you not to leave." He said, before grabbing the doorknob. His eyes weren't looking at her, but to the door.

"Good luck sleeping on yer own tonight." He said before leaving and slamming the door.


End file.
